Kingdom Hearts 4 (Discontinued)
by Jacob England
Summary: In the five years since they Keyblade war, the worlds have been rebuilt and the heartless have become docile. But all of that will change when a new boy enters the fray, Jayson. Will he be able to face these new foes alone, calling themselves the old masters? Or will he need the help of those he meets along the way? (This story is Discontinued, and will no longer be updated.)
1. Prologue

There they stood, in the center of the fated place-the Keyblade graveyard- staring at the sky where Kingdom Hearts was just a few hours prior.

"It's finally over." Mickey says, turning towards the others, as smile on his face. Everyone nods in relief and agreement.

Shaking his head, Sora states quietly and with sadness, "No…"

"We'll find Kairi. Let's head back to master Yen Sid. We can figure it out." Responds Riku, obvious concern in his voice as well.

"No, I know what to do."

"Sora." He turns, speaking immediately to cut Mickey off,

"My whole journey began the day I lost her. And every time I find her… she slips away again. I thought we'd finally be together, but she's out there, _alone_. Not for one more second!"

Donald and Goofy step forward "We'll go too!"

"That's right!" They both exclaim.

"Thank you, Donald, Goofy. But this time I have to go it alone."

"Sora, listen, the power of waking isn't to go chasing after hearts. Even if you do locate Kairi, you might never come back to us again!" Mickey reasons, trying to keep Sora from doing something stupid.

I will! And we'll both be back before you know it!" Sora states, as if it was a fact, even though he is just as unsure as the rest of the guardians of where this new journey will take him.

"Please…" Mickey pleads, Riku, knowing Sora's resolve to find all his friends and keep them safe, gets on one knee, putting his hand on Mickey's shoulder.

"Let him go, Mickey."

"Riku."

"His heart and his mind are made up. Now, believe in him."

"Yeah… Safe journey, Sora." There's a hint of sadness in his voice and his eyes, but he allows Sora to go.

"Thank you." And Sora turns back to where Kingdom hearts was before, summoning forth his Keyblade and pointing it at the sky, everything around began to glow a bright, radiant white before fading into darkness…

A boy opens his eyes to a bedroom, a dark Victorian blue, matching his hair, littered with knick knacks and collectibles traded for munny and other knick knacks from other students in school. The curtains next to his bed let out a small sliver of light. "_I need to remember to get those curtains taped shut or something, I really don't like waking up this early!"_ Reluctantly he got up and headed to his bathroom, down the hall from his room. He gazed in the mirror with his brown eyes, noticing that is hair was spiking up in all directions. Quickly flattening it out and brushing his teeth he headed back into his room to get dressed, contemplating his dream as he did so.

"_This is the third time I've had that dream, maybe I should ask Master Riku and Kairi if they know who Sora is."_ He headed downstairs, dragging his feet as he did so, his mother was making breakfast for herself, pointing to the toast and eggs sitting on the table.

"Honey, you never wake up this early, is something the matter?" Her voice was laced with concern for her son. He just sighed and responded honestly, for whatever mysterious reason.

"I just don't get why Riku and Kairi want me to train as a Keyblade wielder when I can't even summon the dummy Keyblades they let us use for practice. And sure, I'm good at magic, but that's literally it!"

"Oh honey, you know what they told me when they first took you in to teach you?"

"No, what's that?" The boy spoke between mouthfuls of eggs and toast, sometimes with the food still in his mouth.

"They said that they saw something in your heart, a bright light, and that someday you'll become a fearsome wielder, probably better than even Riku. Do you get what they mean, Jayson?"

Jayson sighed, knowing there won't be a way out of it anyways. "I guess… Well, I'm done now, I'm going!"

"Bye, son! Be safe, don't overexert yourself with the magic this time! I don't want Riku or Lea dragging you home again!"

"I'll try mom! I promise!" He gave a cheeky grin to her over his shoulder, signifying that he _probably_ won't keep to that promise. He was off down the corner and towards the newly built Keyblade training center.

Gummiphone Entries:

Jayson: The protagonist of the new series, sixteen (16) years old, he has few friends due to his shy and mischievous nature. Naturally gifted with magic, he is already able to use second tier healing spells (Cura, group Cure) and every type of magic outside of time spells. Riku and Kairi picked him for Keyblade training, stating that he has a "strong heart", though Jayson himself isn't too sure about that…

Sora: The mysterious boy from Jayson's dreams, able to wield a Keyblade, not much is known about him from Jayson's perspective, only knowing his name and face.

Riku: A Keyblade master, beginning to teach new wielders alongside his best friend and fellow master, Kairi. Gifted especially with Dark Magic (Dark Firaga is his favorite, but he can use others too). He is also very skilled in combat. He fought alongside Kairi and the other guardians of light in the second Keyblade war.

Kairi: A Keyblade master, she teaches new wielders alongside Riku. While she may not be gifted in combat, she is very gifted in light magic and healing spells (Using ZettaCure is too strenuous and has only been used once before, but she doesn't like to talk about that time.) She fought alongside Riku and the other guardians of light in the second Keyblade war.

Mickey: A mysterious mouse from Jayson's dreams. He knows nothing about him.

Keyblade Training Center: A location built roughly two years after they second Keyblade war, in response to the burgeoning wealth of new wielders from across the galaxy, it is situated on the play island on Destiny Islands. There is a sister location in the Land of Departure, where other masters from before Riku and Kairi's time train new wielders as well.


	2. Chapter 1

Jayson rode the calm waters carefully, hoping that they could just focus on magic training today, he was always good at that, it didn't focus on his heart and attempting to wield a weapon of epic proportions. The prospect and concept of a Keyblade was cool though, a key shaped sword that could open any lock, and allow even the worst of magic users at least the basics of magic. And though the worlds for the most part were peaceful, the heartless _did_ still try to attack every so often, and each time Riku or Kairi would stop it from ending the world. "_Maybe they knew Sora… whoever that is, I need to find a good time to bring it up, maybe after training today."_ As he docked the boat, he heard Riku give a battle cry, quickly finishing up he turned and saw the man in question charging Kairi with his Keyblade, readying a powerful swing. Kairi nimbly dodged out of the way at the last second, hurling the Keyblade like a boomerang at her opponent, catching it as it flew back. He saw this and guarded against the attack, cloaking himself in dark fire before dashing through her, to which Kairi spun out of the way and soon their blades were a flurry of clangs and slashes, attacks and counter attacks, each time a blow was dealt was a monumental sight to behold as their wielders didn't so much as flinch at the pain. Through some quick movements that Jayson couldn't properly catch Riku was down to one knee and Kairi had her Keyblade pointed at his throat.

"Dead." She tried a serious tone, but her face betrayed her as she cracked a huge smile and began to chuckle, Riku following suit and using the helping hand she had offered to stand properly. It was only when Jayson began to clap did they notice his presence, and he seemed enthused and interested to see more.

"I may not be able to wield one of those things, but you guys make it look _really_ easy. Do you think we can do some magic training today, I think I can pull off Fira now, I just have to get the hand gestures right…"

Riku laughed softly, shaking his head "after we try to summon forth your Keyblade. Okay?"

"But what makes you think I can do it? I haven't been able to before, and I can't see this light in me that you can, so what gives?" He stared up at them with a strange feeling in his chest, a sadness that wasn't there before, he shook his head. This always happens when he's around them, it doesn't matter, I hope.

They glanced at each other before Kairi sighed and tried to explain. "We can feel a strong light within you, Jayson, stronger than any student we've ever had, you're destined for something great, and we want you to be prepared for the future, no matter what it brings."  
"The future doesn't scare me at all, though, Keyblade or not, I'll make it through!"

"I'm glad you've got the confidence, but let's try one more time. _Then_ we can practice on magic, sound good?"

"Fine…" He held his right hand out, attempting to focus within himself towards his heart, seeing it as a beacon to call forth the Keyblade, something felt different from the other times. Almost as if his light was brighter somehow, "_Here, let me help you." _A mysterious voice spoke in Jayson's mind, freaking him out and causing him to ditch his attempt and gasp. As he opened his eyes he noticed a light fading away from his outstretched hand, Riku and Kairi looking on in slight amazement.

"You almost had it, and it looked like…"

"You're right, but it can't be, can it?"

"Has he really found his way back?"

"Uh… guys, what're you talking about?" Jayson inquired, tilting his head with a cheeky grin. Another gaze between the two and they had already had three conversations between the two of them. They turned to Jayson.

"We need to talk, about a lot of things, this was a massive leap forward for you, Jayson, we knew you could do it, but we need to go now, our next session will be entirely on magic, just for you, okay?"

"SWEET! I'll be here!" Jayson gave them a thumbs up as they left, then set his gaze downcast as they sailed away on their boat. "_I wonder what that was all about…" _He shook the thought out of his mind and headed home, unbeknownst to everyone else, two corridors of darkness opened near the bent paopou tree on the smaller land mass on the play island. Out of those corridors came two figures, one with a dark cloak on and the other a tall man wearing blue and golden robes and the mask of a Unicorn. The cloaked man spoke first, in a seemingly exaggerated and flamboyant voice. "So, those two twerps are already trying to train the newest generation of pipsqueaks, it's almost adorable if it didn't make me puke."

"But at least the light is being retained, and these Keyblade wielders might be able to keep the light from falling to darkness, like we could not." The unicorn masked man shook his head solemnly, silently mourning the loss of life he had been apart of so long ago.

"Well, we're going to get the master back, and that's all that matters, right, Ira?"

"… Right…" And as the two slipped back into their corridors of darkness, a small shadow was left behind, searching, sniffing for the secret place to find a tear this world asunder.

Gummiphone entries:

Keyblade: A blade in the shape of a key, able to open any lock. Even non-magic users can use basic magics with a Keyblade, if they can wield one, and grand magics (fourth tier spells, with the suffix -za) if they are naturally gifted or well experienced. Each Keyblade's look is significant to it's wielder, but this can be changed with Keychains.

?: The man who arrived with Ira, his plans and true motivations are unknown, and he seems to detest Riku and Kairi, he left a heartless behind when he left to fulfill his nefarious deeds. His name is still unknown.

Ira: The man in the unicorn mask, he wants to bring his master back through the darkness and other nefarious deeds. Though he seems reluctant to do so. He seems to not trust the mysterious cloaked man, but follows him anyway.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next day Jayson went in search all over the town after school to look for Riku and Kairi, since they promised him a lesson soon about magic, but no one knew where they had ended up. Assuming they had gone out on another mission to look for worlds to save and probably catching up with the other wielders who had helped them during the second Keyblade war he went home and decided to rest on what had almost happened the day before, though it hadn't left his mind since then. "_I was almost able to wield a _Keyblade_, but who was that voice attached to? And why did it want to help me? Maybe if I try again…?" _As his arm stretched out further he heard his mom scream from the kitchen as dishes and metal clattered and broke. Jayson immediately sprang into action and bolted down the stairs and into the horrifying scene. His mother lay there amidst a small group of soldier heartless, all jittering back and forth.

"BLIZZARA!" Jayson bellowed, both hands outstretched as a sizeable chunk of ice erupted from his hands before dispersing in a shotgun blast and making quick work of the heartless. He ran forward and grasped his mother in his arms.

"Mom, please don't go, please! Cure! CURE! CURA! CURA DAMNIT!" Her body began to dissipate despite his best efforts, and as his mother became a floating heart, an anger stronger than anything he had felt burst forth from Jayson, and he ran out the front door his jaw dropped at the spectacle floating above the islands. It was a massive ball of swirling debris, darkness surrounded the edged as a sick orange-red tinted the center.

"RIKU! KAIRI!" an immediate sprint towards the area below the orb landed Jayson in the town square, with the fountain toppled and hearts floating magnificently above and into the orb, a man stood atop the broken fountain, he wore a black coat with a hood, his face hidden, he spoke.

"Well now, if it isn't the master's insufferable whelp! Come to fight me? _Without _a Keyblade? HA! As if! Like your heart is strong enough to even wield a thing as legendary as a _Keyblade_!"

"YOU SHUT UP, YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME! OR MY MASTERS! TELL ME, WHO ARE YOU AND WHY DID YOU BRING THE HEARTLESS HERE!?"

"Oh, come on kid! The old masters have to return, to make things right in the galaxy, and you and the other wielders will only get in the way of that, which is why I made sure your masters are safe and sound in the Realm of Darkness, and as for my name, well… you can just call me Luxu!"

"WHY WOULD YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!? WHO ARE THE OLD MASTERS?! WHY WON'T YOU STOP SPEAKING GIBBERISH! I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU WANT ME TO DO, I DON'T … AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" In a blinding rage, hot tears of anger began to stream down Jayson's face as he rushed the hooded man, swinging his arm as if he had a blade in it, and in a flash of light and stars a blade appeared in Jayson's hand mid swing, the blade was iron and gold, in the shape of a key, it's teeth had the shape of a crown, and the hilt was guarded by a pseudo square of gold, the connecting piece was blue. As the heavy arc came down the hooded man caught it and even though Jayson couldn't see his face he could tell the bastard was _smiling_. He spoke again,

"A real, genuine Keyblade, who'd have thunk it? Oh yeah, me, because this was my plan all along," he looked down at the blade and snickered a bit at whatever had caught the man's eye.

"and no keychain to show for it, tsk, tsk, tsk. It's a real shame, in any case, I've got to go now, toodles!" he tossed Jayson, Keyblade and all, to the ground as he summoned a corridor of darkness and walked though, and that was all Jayson saw before unconsciousness took him and he knew no more.

As Jayson fell, down, down, and even _further down_, he contemplated on where he was,

"_I could be dead, fallen to the darkness as soon as I get my Keyblade… ha, that sounds about right… but if I've fallen to the darkness, why am I not a heartless?"_

That's because you aren't dead, you're just in the station of waking, in your heart, I'm gonna help you so you can wake up, alright? That voice sounded like it was coming from all around, and as soon as it spoke of where he was Jayson landed on a red stained glass platform, Riku and Kairi's faces were shown within two circles, surrounded by darkness, a boy- Sora- was upside down, reaching outwards, towards the Keyblade Jayson had wielded earlier, opposite Sora was Jayson himself, hand reaching for the exact same thing, the Keyblade in the center, Jayson stood in the middle of the Keyblade, stunned. He tried to speak but realized he couldn't, he decided to think instead.

"_So, what is the station of waking? And why am I here?"_

"Well, you're a Keyblade wielder, right? This is something we all go through, this is also where you'll get your ability to truly wield a Keyblade, neat, huh?" Jayson just nodded in response and three small pillars slowly rose from below the glass, on one was a sigil of a sword, the other a shield, and the final one a magic rod. The mystery person spoke once more,

"Magic, Strength, and Protecting those who matter, what will you choose, young wielder?" Without hesitation Jayson stepped over to the pillar with the rod sigil on it. As he touched the sigil it dissipated, and the pillar sunk below the station once more.

"Now, what will you give up in equivalent exchange?" Again, with little hesitation Jayson walked over to the sword sigil and pressed his hand against it, causing it to sink once more, the voice spoke one final time, confirming his choices and once he nodded the entire floor broke under him and with that he fell into another deep, _deep _slumber, and he knew no more.

Gummiphone entries:

Luxu: The cloaked man from chapter one, releasing a heartless to bait Riku and Kairi out, sending them to the realm of darkness, and destroying destiny islands. He left Jayson to die with the fall of the world, but it seems that he may have miscalculated in his efforts…

Realm of Darkness: One of the three realms, the other two being Light and the Realm Between. This realm is a twisted amalgamate of the fallen worlds from the realm of light. This place is also the home of the heartless, the despicable enemies Jayson must face come from this realm.

Heartless: Creatures born of pure darkness, looking for hearts to corrupt and turn to their own side, although they can occur naturally from the Realm of Darkness, they can be synthesized through certain experiments and other nefarious methods.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The first thing Riku noticed when he awoke was the looming sense of dread that something had gone horribly, _terribly_ wrong. He stood up and found himself in the middle of a dark, winding road and he immediately knew where he was.

"The realm of darkness, but why did he send us _here_, I can easily leave here, but Kairi was with me, too… I should go find her." He was filled with determination as he walked down the path, unsure of what lie ahead, but all to ready to fight anything that came his way…

As Jayson's eyes opened he noticed the blistering cold, and immediately he jumped up, the rush of memories flooding back from his encounter on the islands.

"_Luxu, just who the hell does he think he is?! But he was successful, he had the islands swallowed by darkness, and now everyone's…" _He began to wail,

"MOM… RIKU… KAIRI… EVERYONE! GOD… WHY!? WHY ME? AND NO ONE ELSE?! GAAAAAHHHHHH!" sobbing vehemently as he fell to his knees. Punching the ground, going as deeply as the snow would allow with each blind fist, angry with himself and his failure to save everyone. Letting out guttural screams of rage as he did so, and soon enough he heard a sound he was familiar with: heartless spawning into the realm of light. He stood up slowly, and summoned his Keyblade, gripping it so hard his knuckles turned white, leveling a vicious glare at his prey,

"you… you did this... you're the reason they're gone… you work for him…. Luxu…" he lunged forward. Wild slashes and many of his strongest fire spells erupted within the clearing, decimating the heartless threat, and warming him in the process. Out of breath and exhausted, Jayson felt a sudden wave of nausea and vomited on the ground by his own feet, it froze where it landed, and the bit of saliva dangling from his mouth did the same. He wiped away what was left on his chin and began to walk where the winds were taking him, down.

"_Gotta… make it to… wherever these leads…"_ his body failed him, however, and he passed out where he stood, the last thing he heard was a distressed woman screaming for someone to come help her…

He awoke some time later in a confused daze, his mind was hazy, and he could faintly see three people watching over him. As his vision cleared he took note of their appearances. One was a woman, with a small nose and freckles splashed across her face. It was round, too, and she had damp, orange hair, tied in dual braids going down either side of her face. Jayson noted that she was cute and moved on to the next one, looking just as concerned as the red-head. She looked almost identical the red-haired woman, with the stark difference being her blinding white hair, just like snow, braided down only one side of her face. Jayson moved to the final person, he was male, with broad shoulders and a rectangular chin, his hair was a dark blonde and his eyes were brown, just like Jayson's.

It took a minute, but he eventually found his voice, he asked,

"Hey, sorry about any trouble I've caused you, but where am I, exactly? And what happened to get me here?" The snowy woman spoke up first.

"Well, I'll start by telling you that we're in Arendelle, and we were on our way down the mountain ourselves, we had just finished sledding, and Anna noticed you laid down in the snow, she was worried over how long you'd been there for, and we took you home immediately, I hope that you are safe now." She spoke very cordially, too composed for the situation. Jayson rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed that he had passed out, and was quick to apologize, or try to, if the broad-shouldered man hadn't stopped him.

"Come on, we were all really worried, you could've _died_, and yet you're saying _sorry_? Come on, you would've done it for us, too."

"O-oh, well, I don't really know how things work around here, I'm from…. Far away…" the memories of Riku and him roleplaying as people from different worlds, so the 'world order' was maintained, the times Riku broke character to sternly reprimand him for _every little mistake_, he shuddered at the thought.

"Well, I may as well thank the one who noticed me, so thanks, Anna!" He smiled widely, eyes crinkling, showing it had made it to his eyes. Anna blushed before responding.

"Well I'm glad I did, I wouldn't want to be caught up in the mountains during winter, _ever_. I remember the last time I did that, but Kristoff here found me, and I was able to make it because of him." They both blushed deeply at this, Kristoff bashfully swatted the small space between them, stuttering out how it wasn't anything, and that's just how he was raised. To Jayson's left he heard a soft giggling, and noticed Elsa covering her mouth, not allowing it to show on her face that she found the sight amusing. Jayson's smile softened as he remembered how Kairi would do that too, for the world order training. Suddenly remembering about the last thing, he heard about Kairi and Riku, Jayson got quiet, his smile turning to a small frown. Elsa seemed to notice first, then Anna and Kristoff. Jayson began quietly crying, which soon evolved into soft sobbing, then full out wailing. The others were quick to console him, asking what was wrong. The genuine concern helped him feel safe, and he eventually calmed down enough before he spoke again.

"Okay, I'll tell you my story…"

Gummiphone entries:

Elsa: The queen of Arendelle. She is stoic and diplomatic, with a strong moral code. She is the older sister to Anna. She is one of the _new_ princesses of heart.

Anna: She is bubbly and cute. She was the one to find Jayson passed out in the snow and helped him back to the castle. She is the younger sister to Elsa, and she is engaged to Kristoff. She is one of the _new_ princesses of heart.

Kristoff: He is also Stoic, but he has his excited moments. Raised by trolls, he is stubborn and well built. He is engaged to Anna and is the unofficial body guard to the queen.

Arendelle: The world of Arendelle was visited by Sora once before and it seems as if the heartless are still attacking…


	5. Author's Note

Hey all, it's Jacob here! I can tell some of you are confused about the story and where its going and the OC's character arc and stuff, I'm gonna answer some of the questions I think you guys might have, so lets get this started!

Q1: So have they just given up on looking for Sora?

Okay, so, Sora is going to make an appearance and have a role in the overall story, that much should be obvious. But the difference is that he isn't the _main_ character of this arc, that goes to Jayson. Sora will appear, but it'll be more towards the end with hints of where he is sprinkled during the story.

Q2: Why does it seem like Jayson doesn't want to wield a Keyblade if he's _obviously_ going to? Where's his motivation?

Alright, so this is on me. It doesn't seem like it, but Jayson would _love _to wield a Keyblade of his own, he just doesn't see what the other characters see, the strong light that's deep within. And his motivation is brought about by the destruction of the islands, and the separation from Riku and Kairi, just like Sora in the first Kingdom Hearts. He has an arc, it'll take a minute before the changes are noticed.

Q3: Where are the other guardians of light? And Mickey and Donald and Goofy?

So here's the thing; this is gonna be a (mostly) solo adventure, Jayson isn't going to have Donald or Goofy to back him up, this strength is gonna come from Jayson and Jayson alone, and that's because of plot reasons, but that doesn't mean he won't get support from others or that the other characters won't have plot relevance, they will, I promise, it'll be a minute before we get there, so please, _have patience_. I know this story won't go 100% in the direction you will want, it's hardly taking the direction _I _thought it would when I first conceived the idea, but things are going a lot more smoothly than I thought they would.

Honestly that's about it for this A/N, I'll have the next chapter posted at some point in the future, don't worry about that, thank you for the views so far, and here's to many more!


	6. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It took some time, but eventually Jayson was able to finish his story, dodging anything related to Destiny Islands being from another world quite successfully, if he said so himself. He asked if there was anyone like that, wearing black robes or something similar, Elsa responded first,

"No, it's just been the heartless, except this one time, there was a man in white and gold robes, about Kristoff's size, maybe bigger, and he had a mask on, a bear mask, I think."

"huh, it could be unrelated, then again… I'll need to go check it out, if that's okay with her majesty?" Elsa visibly bristled at his usage of majesty,

"Please, just call me Elsa, I have no need for formalities with someone from another world, now-"

"Wait! You _know_ about other worlds? But what about the world order?!" The other two seemed confused, yet Elsa seemed pleased, like she had accomplished something.

"You allowed me to find it out, when Sora was here, he wielded the same weapon, and no one on or around Arendelle has been able to possess such a weapon, not to mention that a dog and a duck were able to walk and talk, granted, we have Olaf, but that's magic, _they_ were something else entirely."

"So, it looks like you have a lot of explaining to do." Anna finished Elsa's thought with surprising speed, as if they were in perfect sync, Jayson sighed loudly.

"Sorry Riku, I couldn't maintain the order… alright, I guess I do owe you an explanation, don't I? So, I have a Keyblade, a weapon of light, and my job is to protect the worlds from darkness when the balance is tipped out of scale, I'm not from here, and neither was Sora, or Donald, or Goofy. I'm from a place called Destiny Islands, and like I said, it was swallowed up by the darkness," He deflated considerably, eyes growing dull, but the light came back soon, and Jayson's voice filled with new determination as he continued. "I was left to die unconscious, but I somehow ended up here, so I have to find my masters and stop whatever it is these guys are trying to do!" He hopped up, asking Elsa to show him the way out of the castle, and maybe something to help keep the biting cold away.

Some time later Jayson was standing at the gates of Arendelle castle, a dark cloak billowing around him in the wind, he clipped it shut at the top and middle, and pulled the hood up, covering his hair, so he'd be less noticeable, he also grabbed a cat face mask, cut it in half and put the bottom half on, mouth and nose, and he was ready, waving goodbye to Elsa and the others he set off, determined to finally get his part of the journey started.

It took a good day and a half for Jayson to reach the top of the mountain containing Elsa's Ice castle at it's peak, Elsa had said the place contained great magic, something different from her ice magic, so he decided that was the best place to start his search. There was a surprising amount of Heartless, and Jayson had to use most of his magic on the way up the mountain, but he finally made it, using up many Ethers and Potions to do so. As he approached the castle a massive, burly blur of white, gold and brown barreled its way towards Jayson and he deftly dodged it, still receiving a decent slash to his side. A quick cure was all he needed. The thing stopped, and as the figure turned he noticed he fit the description Elsa had given him.

"Strange thing for a foreteller to be here from the past, how have you been, Aced?" The worlds slipped from Jayson's mouth before he could register what he was saying, taken aback, Aced readied his Keyblade,

"So, I see you are one of the new wielders Luxu warned us about, there is no time for games, little whelp, it's time to test your strength, now face me!" Aced charged, and Jayson readied his Keyblade for the attack, and they clashed. Sparks flew as Aced's Keyblade blew through Jayson's defenses, hurtling him towards the glassy ice stairways of the castle, a quick Aero spell slowed his fall and stopped him from breaking through.

"Damn, you pack one hell of a hit. Good thing Riku decided to train me with real combat."

"How are you still up?! Most fledgling wielders can't even stand half a strike from me!"

"Like I said, lots of training, I'm really good at magic, wanna see?" Before he responded he let out a massive 'Firaga!', melting the snow as it launched towards Aced. He readied his Keyblade and sliced the massive ball of flame in two, stopping it when it reached him.

"Not good enough to beat me!" Another charge, Jayson dodged out of the way this time, blasting back with an Aeroga spell. Aced was flung loftily into the air, but fell back just as quickly, enraged further he charged again. Unable to dodge in time, and desperate, Jayson cast "Blizzaza!'. A massive blast of snow and ice erupted before him, and when the white dust cleared Aced was seemingly frozen in place, Keyblade mid swing and a ferocious look was on his face beneath the mask. Satisfied, Jayson relaxed and dismissed his Keyblade, walking back and kneeling a few feet away, out of breath and popping an ether. A cracking sound, then two, then an innumerable amount before Jayson was lifted into the air with surprising speed, gripped at the neck by Aced, more furious than he had ever been.

Gummiphone Entries:

World Order: The worlds are disconnected to maintain the balance of light, the world order is used to keep the secret of other worlds from each other, yet after the second Keyblade war it appears more and more worlds are learning about each other, making this obsolete. It doesn't help that Jayson is about as aware of this as Sora was.

Foreteller: The leaders of the Unions of the past, before the first Keyblade war, it appears that they are here now and doing dastardly things for an unknown purpose…

Aced: One of the Foretellers. He wears white and golden robes, wearing a bear mask. He is stalwart and combat focused, and he immediately attacked Jayson, knowing he was a fellow wielder. His intentions are unknown, but he works with Luxu, which means it can't be anything good…

A/N: Hey! This was my first time writing a battle scene, and I don't know how well it feels to read from an outsiders perspective, so constructive criticism is favored! Thanks!


	7. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"A wielder who can use grand magics at such a low level of skill. Impressive. But that will end now!" he began choking the life out of Jayson, he flailed around and tried to break free to no avail.

"Tell… me… s..th..g.." the words came as barely a whisper, air forcing its way out of him. Aced paused for a second before nodding, releasing his grip enough for him to breathe.

"…Very well, I will answer whatever you ask, since this will be the last you will breathe." Jayson nodded slowly before going quiet to think. He looked up, eyes steeled with resolve as he began,

"Why are you doing this? Don't you know that this is causing all the worlds to fall to darkness again? You seem to be from a time of peace, but this is causing chaos, isn't it our job to protect the light from the darkness?"

"That is where you fail, we aren't meant to protect the light, merely fulfill our own destinies. That is what I learned from our time with the Master. Is that all?"

"No, who is this master? And why do you think that his lessons are all encompassing? There will obviously be exceptions to those teachings, right?"

"You sound like Gula, wanting to go against the teachings to 'save' everyone, this was inevitable from the start, the worlds are to fall to darkness-"

"They were already supposed to, but light prevailed, and darkness was _supposed_ to expire, but since the Heartless are still about and you guys are destroying worlds I'd say there's still one more go of it to see where we really end up." Jayson smirked at this proclamation, feeling as if he had figured it all out, but seeing this Aced tightened his grip once more,

"No more out of you, whelp, this ends **now**!" But as he was about to break Jayson's neck a blast of ice exploded on his back, and a giant clawed _snowman_ barreled through him, forcing Aced to drop Jayson as he was knocked towards the edge of the cliff. As he lost his grip and fell he could be heard screaming "You have _NOT _seen the last of me!".

Jayson stayed kneeled there for a few minutes, sucking in air until his throat felt raw, snot dripping from his nose and tears streaming down his face. He gazed up and noticed Elsa and Kristoff approaching, with a moose and the large snowman not far behind. He smiled as broadly as he could but failed. Sighing, he lifted his hand to allow Kristoff to help him up, they clasped hands and Jayson nodded his head, appreciating the help.

"When did you guys get here? And how did you _know_ that I would be here already?"

"Well, we assumed it would take you a bit to get here, so we followed behind, in case anything happened to you, and we saw the bear guy choking you and we knew we had to do something." Kristoff patted Jayson on the back, nearly toppling him over. Elsa giggled slightly, before continuing,

"Of course, this is also where this worlds Keyhole is. I wouldn't let anyone do anything to it, even if it cost me my life."

"The Keyhole… that means that I can seal it and stop them from trying again!" Jayson ran up the castle steps and into the foyer, he stopped directly in the middle, gazing up to the top of the steps he summoned his Keyblade and pointed it towards the top of the staircase, where the entryway to the balcony was. A mass of light appeared and dispersed slowly into the shape of a Keyhole, the light was being sucked slowing into the opening, and Jayson's Keyblade glowed a strange blue hue before a beam of light shot from its tip and out towards the entrance. A distinct 'click' could be heard as the Keyhole was locked, stopping any Heartless from destroying this world. A soft gasp escaped someone behind Jayson, and he turned to see Elsa standing there, mystified.

"Where did that come from? How did you know it would be there?" Jayson shrugged.

"I don't know, something just… told me to come here, I think the world spoke to me, letting itself be saved." He walked towards the door, passing Elsa as he did, making his way towards Kristoff. "Thanks again for the help, but I'm sure that there won't be any more problems here for you, at least for a while. I promise to be back to visit though."

"So, you've got to go, then?"

"Yeah, there are more worlds to save, and I have to find Riku and Kairi. Then there's the problem with the foretellers…"

"We understand, go now, we can take care of things from here." Jayson swelled with happiness, knowing things would only get better from here.

"You guys might wanna stand back." They did. Jayson used his Keyblade and pointed it straight ahead, near the edge of the mountain. Thinking about his want for answers, a beam shot out and opened a gate, swirling with white and purple light; he turned and smiled at everyone before steadily walking through the portal, and it closed behind him.

A dark corridor opened at the Keyblade Graveyard, and Aced stepped out, looking furious, one fist clenched on the hilt of his Keyblade, the other grasping at his robes. Luxu was standing nearby, hood down, exposing his scarred face. His hair was slicked back into a pony tail, long grey streaks ran through from the forehead to the bottom. He held his own Keyblade, the gazing eye. His golden amber eyes seemed to glow with anticipation, already knowing the answer Aced would give him before he even spoke.

"So… how'd it go?" His tone was teasing, almost playful, but the malice was still there.

"YOU ALREADY KNOW HOW IT WENT, LUXU!" Aced roared at him, striking a nearby pillar of stone, shattering it effortlessly, Luxu stepped out of the way of the falling boulders and laughed.

"Of course, I know how it went. But It wasn't the kid who took you down, it was a REINDEER!" He began cackling, doubled over in laughter at his companions' misfortunes.

"Why did you send me on that mission, anyways? As much as it pains me to say; Invi would have been a _much _better choice, give her magical prowess."

"Because, big guy, I wanted to see just how physically strong this kid is, and honestly, he's not there, at all, more of Invi's type than anything, magic user and all that, but I thought you could finish him off, it seems I was wrong."

"This is the second time you've been wrong, first was when you told us he was gone, but then you say he isn't, and you send _me_ to go solve the problem for you!"

"look Aced, we have to do this stuff to get the master back, remember?"

"…Yes, I know, and this goes against his teachings, I wasn't accepting of them after he left, as it seemed he wanted us at each other's throats, but I see now that I can get my answers from him if I bring him back, and that is all the reason I need to follow you, as dastardly as your plan may seem." They had neared the Apex of where the second Keyblade war took place, the massive structure leading to where Xehanort's portal was, now gone long after his passing. They stared up into the sky, where they knew it would be summoned when this was all over. Luxu grinned menacingly, eyes crinkling in a devious way.

"Your cooperation is all I need, Aced…"

Gummiphone entries:

Gula: Another of the foretellers, he is academically inclined as the testimony of Aced implies.

Keyholes: The heart of the world lies beyond these. If a heartless manages to break in and destroy the heart, the world is lost forever. Keyholes can be unlocked by and wielder, but reopening them can only be done by a master. Jayson's journey will consist of saving the worlds in this manner.

The Keyblade Graveyard: The place where the first and second Keyblade wars took place. This is the current headquarters for Luxu and the other Foretellers.


	8. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

As Jayson stepped out of the light portal he was placed in the middle of an inground rail road, wrapping around a shop. The store owner seemed to be a fluffy white creature with a red pom-pom attached to its head. The area had other shops and in one corner there was what appeared to be a restaurant, it was filled to the brim and even the tables outside were packed with people. Everything seemed to be bathed in an orange glow. It seemed peaceful enough, until someone tapped Jayson on the shoulder.

"You do realize that traveling between worlds without a passport or proper permission is a violation of the law, right?" the voice was deep and mellow. The person speaking was taller than Jayson, with shoulder length dirty blonde hair and light brown eyes, he had chin scruff and he looked serious. It startled Jayson and he began mumbling.

"But Riku never told me about that, I feel like he would have if it was a real thing, but maybe other worlds have different rules from our own…" Jayson was going to apologize before another voice, this one attached to a lady with shoulder length brown hair and green eyes, with a soft face; there were smile lines already forming on her face.

"Hayner, you know you're not supposed to scare newcomers like that! He might not know the rules, and that's a bad joke." Hayner laughed heartily, scratching the back of his neck.

"Come on, Olette, can't I have a little fun? And besides, I don't think he really believed it, he knows Riku somehow." He shot Jayson a well-intentioned smile, and he returned a wary one. A shorter man ran up to them, panting.

"You guys couldn't have waited for me, you know what Yen Sid said, 'You have to approach him as one, be accepting, and _don't_ say anything that can be misconstrued as malevolent.' And Hayner you did…. Exactly that." His hair was standing up, aided by a hair wrap. He had a round face, boyish in nature, and light blue eyes. They all turned to Jayson, expecting his input, and he provided.

"Riku told me about the world order, but it seems like that doesn't matter, and who are you guys? How do you know Yen Sid? I though only Keyblade wielders and people like Donald and Goofy could meet him?" They looked at each other and shrugged, tossing the question back at Jayson.

"You don't have a Keyblade, last time we heard, and we're assuming Riku told you about him. Where _is_ Riku, anyway? I don't think you can be out and about without-"

"Well I am, because Riku and Kairi are in the realm of darkness, and I _can _wield a Keyblade, kinda had to so the worlds won't be destroyed by darkness and the Foretellers." He replied with a snap, looking down at the ground guilty a moment later. "I'm sorry, is there any way I can see Yen Sid? I think he should know what's going on, powerful former master and all…" They nodded in sync, and before heading to the train station, showed Jayson around. The tour was quick, starting in the Tram square and going towards the Mansion, then rounding back and heading towards the station. On the hill climb up towards the tram station a sudden question caught Jayson.

"So how do _you_ guys know about other worlds? Are you guys part of the new batch of Keyblade wielders that I've heard about?"

"Uhhhh, no. We knew about the other worlds well before _that_. Sora showed up one day near the end of summer vacation and we had never seen him before and we asked if he had finished the Homework and he looked so _confused_." The three had a good laugh about that memory, but Jayson was deep in thought. "_Who's Sora? He obviously did _something _good, and Kairi and Riku seem to know him, they just don't mention it. An old friend from before the second war? Hmmm, it's really weird." _He shook his head, deciding to ask Yen Sid about it as soon as he could. And off they went, to the mysterious tower…

The train ride to the tower was very quiet. The sun setting in the distance as the stars whizzed by at incredible speeds. The track seemed to be forming itself as they went along, guiding them towards their destination. At last the train slowed down and came to a complete stop, as Jayson stepped out he was taken aback by just how _small_ the island was, lacking surprise as Kairi had told him about the lone island floating in space, with a strange tower near the edge. Thinking of little else he had stepped ahead when a small batch of Shadows and Soldiers popped up, only to be quickly struck down by immensely powerful, yet small strikes of lightning, targeting each of the heartless individually. After they were dispatched Hayner scoffed before lightly speaking "Show off…"

The climb up the tower was a different beast and thinking about how the staircase was just _levitating_ in the air was a bit concerning. They knocked on the door and an even, baritone voice wizened with age spoke through, softly yet booming in nature.

"Come in, I have been expecting you for some time now." They followed his command, entering the room and spreading out, with Hayner and Olette on Jayson's right, and Pence on his left, Jayson center, right in front of Yen Sid. They all bowed respectfully, before Jayson spoke.

"Master Yen Sid, I have terrible news from Destiny Islands and the Kingdom of Arendelle. But there is some good news as well, if you'll allow me." An affirmative grunt was all that accompanied the silence, Jayson took this as a yes and kept going. He told the story of Destiny Islands and of Luxu, of Arendelle and Aced. The Foretellers were back somehow, and they were determined to force the worlds to fall to darkness. After he had reached where he was now he decided to ask his question.

"Master, if these people aren't from this time, if they really _are_ from the past, how were they able to be here, now? Shouldn't they all be dead, or at least really old?"

"It seems they did not time travel in the sense we know it, it was more that they were summoned here by one of their own, someone who knew what they were doing, where to meet, and all other things necessary to lead them."

"Luxu! He must be the missing link, then. He seemed like he knew what he was doing when I encountered him on Destiny Islands, he tossed me aside like I was a wad of paper."

"Before we continue, Hayner, Pence, Olette, you may all leave us now. You did your jobs commendably." They all bowed and left, but Jayson had a suspicion they were hiding just behind the door and graced himself with a small smile. Another grunt, and he knew to continue.  
"Why doesn't my Keyblade have a Keychain? Riku's and Kairi's does, so why not mine?" A small laugh escaped Yen Sid as he stood, walked slowly over to a cabinet, and fished out of it a single keychain, tossing it over to Jayson, who caught it after fumbling with it for a few seconds.

"Attach that to the end of your Keyblade and see why you don't have one of your own." The keychain in question was short, linked with gold, ending in a silver star set with a strangely vibrant gem. Doing as Jayson was asked, his Keyblade began to glow and shift, and once the glow dissipated the Keyblade had changed from its usual gold and silver design to a flowing, rounded blade. Golds and blues flowed from the star shaped teeth of the blade. He flipped the blade around in his hand, looking up with wide eyes.

"This is new…"

"Ha! Hardly, Sora had a similar ability to fish out Keychains from the worlds he visited, sometimes they were gifts from the friends he made, other times they just seemed to appear on his person. I feel that you will have similar experiences in your travels. Now, focus on your original Keyblade, and allow it to take form in your grasp." Jayson concentrated on his first Keyblade, the gold and silver and blue and in another flash of light like the first, his base weapon appeared in his hand, but the Keychain of the second remained.

"Woah! Cool! How many can I have on at once on this? Do they have any effect or are they just aesthetic? And will I get any new clothes?!"

"…In order of your questions, I believe three would be the most, they do influence your attributes, which I will explain shortly, and yes, I have new garments for you, young Jayson. They may not be up to par with the others clothing but I feel that you will find them sufficient and comfortable. Go into the room adjacent and get changed, I will explain more of your mission after you have finished." With a wave of his hand and a puff of smoke a black and blue suitcase with hearts and stars adorning the outside materialized on the desk in front of him, Jayson stared in awe and grasped the handle, giving a quick thanks before rushing into the room. Many covered mirrors of various shapes and sizes were strewn across the walls. And with a playful huff he set the suitcase down and began to change.

After changing into a white shirt, black pants with matching red and black shoes, and a reversible vest-jacket with black and red on the outside and inside respectively Jayson stepped out of the room and found that a man with a fiery mane wearing similarly dark clothes was standing in front of the desk, and hand on his hip and sass in his tone as he continued to speak.

"-C'mon, Yen Sid! He's just a kid, he doesn't even know how to properly wield his Keyblade!"

"He appears to be naturally adept, Lea. Give him a small chance and see where it goes." Yen Sid's response was calm and collected, as to be expected, Jayson thought. He walked over and bowed to Lea and to Yen Sid, before summoning his own Keyblade, then morphing it into the shooting star. He gave a smirk to Lea.

"Bet you can't do that."

"Oh, you wanna go kid? Riku's told me all about you-"

"You've been in contact with Riku!?" Jayson's eyes lit up as he dismissed his Keyblade, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet as Lea looked at him with a mix of sadness and understanding. He looked to Yen Sid and He nodded, turning to Jayson before speaking,

"Jayson, you must go to these worlds and re-seal the Keyholes that the Foretellers are unlocking to stop the tide of darkness they are allowing to flourish within our worlds. Do you understand this?"

"Yes, but why can't one of the other masters do it? Aqua, Terra and Ventus are all much more experienced than I am with dealing with the darkness, and shouldn't I be training?"

"Of course, but Luxu, the leader of the Foretellers, targeted your world and you specifically, there has to be a reason for that, I believe it is your purpose to stop them because of this."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense, but what are these clothes and keychains supposed to do?"

"The garments are imbued with a magic that will change your form to suit the world you will be going into. The Keychain is similar, it will boost certain aspects of yourself, such as your magical ability or strength. There are many scattered across the worlds, you must find them to help you on your travels." Jayson nodded before turning back to Lea, sighing before attempting to walk to the door, Lea coughed rather obviously to get his attention.

"Why don't I take you somewhere real quick? It'll help pep you up for your journey, promise!" Jayson pondered it for a moment; he never got the chance to truly talk to any of the key wielders personally. He nodded, following Lea as he made his way out the door and down the stairs. Bowing quickly to master Yen Sid, he followed quickly.

After stepping off the phantom train, Lea and Jayson snuck up onto the roof of the clocktower, he waved at the sunset as he sat down on the edge of the platform.

"Come on, kid, you won't fall unless you _really_ want to! I got something for you too, so come here!" Hesitantly Jayson made his way to the edge and sat beside Lea, suddenly he pulled out two bars of blue ice cream, handing one to Jayson and unwrapping his own and chowing down. Jayson opened his own and took a small nibble, noticing its flavor and wanted to voice it.

"Salty, but sweet… not bad."

"That's what everyone says, and I mean _everyone_… so kid, what's got you all worked up?" Jayson sighed before beginning.

"Well, my home fell to darkness, and I was thrust here with little to no actual knowledge of what I'd be facing! Now I'm told that I'm supposed to save everyone on my own! It's a lot, you know?" Lea nodded in understanding, gazing out at the sunset. He smiled softly before giving him his wisdom.

"You know, it might be a lot to handle, but you have a strength that isn't seen in a lot of people, that's why the Keyblade chose you! I mean, we've all had to deal with saving the worlds, we've done our part, and now it's your turn."

"But still! Shouldn't I get a little help?! Sora had Donald and Goofy, after all!"

"How did you know that? I'm pretty sure Riku and Kairi didn't tell you anything about Sora, or about his journey…" Jayson was definitely stumped, himself. The words had just flown out of his mouth as naturally as breathing.

"I don't know… that just feels right, though. I feel like I shouldn't be alone for this, but I guess I have no choice."

"I know you can do it, kid. Don't worry about it so much, things like this come naturally to us." He could tell that Jayson wasn't too cheered up by this, so he decided to switch things up a bit.

"Hey, do you know why the sun sets red?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Well, because I feel like everyone should know, is all…" Jayson decided to humor him and chuckled a bit before letting Lea continue.

"Go on…"

"It's because light is made up of lots of colors, and out of all those colors, red travels the farthest. Pretty neat, right?"

"Yeah, that is pretty neat…" Jayson smiled slightly, gazing out at the sunset, taking occasional bites out of his ice cream as they stared at the sunset in a small bubble of quiet. It was a nice quiet though, peaceful even. After finishing the bars, they parted, Lea waving goodbye as Jayson stayed behind to reflect on what he said.

"_It might be a lot to handle, but if what Lea said was true, it should be easier than I imagine… maybe I can make some friends on the way, that would be nice… whelp, time to go!"_ As Jayson stood up he summoned his Keyblade, focused extremely hard on his next destination, _anywhere I can help people and save the worlds_, and the light shot forth from his Keyblade once more and he entered, unknowing of the person watching him from around the corner, who turned away and left through their own dark corridor, destination: unknown.

Gummiphone entries:

Hayner: A boy that met Sora some time ago, after his encounter and subsequent knowledge of other worlds, He, Olette, and Pence all banded together to form a police force of sorts to regulate the world order and travel to and from Twilight Town. Him and the others work under Yen Sid to help new wielders that pop up to find their way to training. He enjoys pranking people.

Olette: Friend to Hayner and Pence. She met Sora at the same time as the others. She also works under Yen Sid. She has to keep Hayner's pranks in check.

Pence: Friend to Hayner and Olette. He met Sora at the same time and also works under Yen Sid. He enjoys taking photos of strange and mysterious things.

Ability Sewn Clothing: After Sora's first adventure against Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, Sora was given new clothing that gave him new abilities such as dual wielding Keyblades. While Jayson cannot do that, the magic sewn into his clothing gives him the ability to blend into any world he's in.

Keychains: Chains with little trinkets on the end of them. Attaching them to the end of Jayson's Keyblade will change their appearance and boost certain aspects of himself. Such as Strength, Magic, and so on. He can have three Keychains equipped at a time and can change between Keyblades at will.


	9. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Sand was billowing into the exit of the light portal as Jayson approached it. Remembering to go incognito so as to preserve the world order he had changed into the coat, it was black, accented with silver. It also came with a white mask to put around his mouth; He put both on before leaving the portal, pulling the hood up to hide further. As he exited the Portal he had to cover his eyes due to the monstrous sand storm that had seemingly rolled into this part of the world; luckily there was a town nearby with large walls. As Jayson made his way to the town a group of Heartless appeared, dressed in Arabian garb. Jayson summoned his Keyblade and dispatched them with a quick Thundara, using the new shooting star keychain.

"_It feels like I haven't used any Magic, is this what Yen Sid meant by changing my attributes? It normally takes two or three of those…"_ He realized he was staying too still and nearly lost the town in the storm. He began trekking out that way before he saw another figure, this one robed with a strange mask. Assuming it was a Foreteller he began chasing after it as fast as he could. "_What could they want with this place? And who is this one?"_ The figure turned around finally, and it was a…girl, in pink robes with a Fox mask, she looked distressed before she reached out for Jayson, dissipating into sand as her hand touched his face. He felt the grain of sand but for a split second he could feel an actual hand… An earsplitting roar came from just below Jayson and before he could properly move out of the way he was attacked from below by a sentient tornado. Sucked into its attack, glass and other miscellaneous items swirling around at immense speeds, cutting Jayson in various places and with differing depths. After being launched further out and away from the city Jayson tumbled down and down and down, finally coming to a stop some distance away. As he stood up the skies cleared, and he was able to catch his bearings, somewhat. He knew he was further from the town but not too far away that he couldn't see it; the skies had cleared, and he assumed the Heartless was gone for now. He began the trek back up the sand dunes, dehydrated and exhausted, he saw something approaching quickly. Something bulky. Something _blue_, "_What in the world...?"_ As the object barreled through Jayson, he was barely able to keep from falling over as he screamed at the thing.

"HEY! What the heck, man?!" The thing stopped, turning quickly. He was definitely a person, but blue and looking like a barrel. A single pony tail on top of his bean shaped head and a thin goatee to match. Long, pointy ears with medium sized thick hoop earrings near the lobes. He was wearing baggy blue pants with a red waistband and large curled toe shoes.

"I'm _so _sorry kid! I didn't see you there! It's Horrible! Terrifyingly disgusting! Heartless are attacking the city! Aladdin sent me to find help!"

"Heartless!? Is there a fast way to get to the town? You've just found your help!" Jayson summoned his Keyblade and laid the blade over his shoulder, teeth of the key facing downward and a smirk on his face, though the mask wouldn't show it.

"Perfect! Let's get you to Agrabah, stat! And-a-one-two-THREE!" The thing snapped his fingers three times in sync with the numbers and suddenly Jayson was surrounded by purple and blue smoke. Once it dissipated Jayson appeared in a town square with multiple stands set up for shops of various goods and wares, but they were all ravaged and raided, dark swirls appearing and disappearing constantly to allow Heartless into the world. Jayson summoned Star Seeker and with a quick Blizzara took out one group, A few Firas took out another one, and switching to the Kingdom Key to take out the final few with some physical attacks. A couple stands may have been destroyed in the process but those were problems for another time. Screams could be heard from all around and Jayson was trying his best to help out everyone he ran across, the blue man was helping too, making multiple Heartless disappear at a time. He smiled at Jayson, yelling encouragement as he took out another swath of Heartless. After what felt like hours the final Heartless was destroyed, its heart floating away into the empty skies. Jayson turned to the thing pulling his hood down but leaving the mask.

"So, I never asked your name."

"I'm soooo glad you asked! I am the (former) GENIE IN THE LAMP! I can do anything for you, kid, I owe you one for helping out the town! Before we do that, though, I should let you meet Al! Come on, follow me!" Genie began pushing Jayson towards the town, snapping his fingers to fix the town as he went, giving Jayson no time to argue about why he was really there. Jayson looked up towards the regal palace with a look of worry on his face

"_Maybe this'll help me find the Keyhole… I hope"_ He gulped as the Genie pushed him once more towards his friend and unknowingly further from his objective.

Gummiphone Entries:

Thundara: Second tier Thunder magic. Jayson's go-to spell for large groups.

Genie of The Lamp: A Genie that was once trapped inside a lamp, he mentions a friend in the palace named Al. He can do just about anything with his magical abilities. Very Eccentric.

Agrabah: The town where Genie and his friends reside. It is under siege by the Foretellers and Heartless.

?: A mysterious Foreteller Jayson encountered after exiting the Agrabah portal, this was followed closely by a Heartless attack.

A/N Sorry for this chapter being so short! I just got my Laptop working again and decided to get this chapter out early before kicking this world into full gear! Next chapter should be longer!


	10. Chapter 8

Riku had been walking for what felt like days, dispatching Heartless left and right with little time to rest. He was exhausted and stumbling constantly, eyes heavy and body weary. Another swarm had surrounded him as he summoned his Keyblade and stood to fight. _"I'm never gonna make it out of here if it keeps up like this..."_ he swung weakly at the first shadow that jumped him, and missed. Clawing deeply into his back, he let out a weak scream of pain as he knelt down, the rims of his vision began to darken as the Heartless were suddenly dispersed. A Corridor Of Darkness appeared and Luxu began to tread towards him, hood up as he cackled knowingly.

"Oh how the mighty have fallen! How does it feel being knocked off your pedestal, guardian?"

"That voice... I thought we killed you!" Riku's voice trembled as he knew what was coming next.

"I was recompleted, just like the others. And lo and behold, the Master's plan worked like a charm! My role is almost complete, I just have to do a few more things before that happens..." Luxu gesticulated as he made his speech, summoning his Keyblade and raising it above his head, ready to strike. Riku's final thoughts were on the safety of Jayson and Kairi, hoping for the best as everything became dark around him.

After being pushed enough by the Genie, Jayson shoved his arms away and began walking towards the palace gate. Hearing some incoherent speech on the other side before the vast doors swung open with a silent scraping, revealing the amazing courtyard beyond. Surprisingly there was a garden and grass growing exceptionally well in the sweltering desert heat, with a fountain in the center, made of a golden copper. The path led around both sides of the fountain towards the grand open palace, marble and jade and silks adorned the glassless windows and walls. Purple banners bearing a stylized lamp hung near the top. A detail Jayson failed to notice out in the town proper.

"Weeeeeell, you gonna sit there gawking or are we gonna get this problem solved? Tally hooooooo!" The genie began appearing all around the courtyard, stopping just before the entrance pointing into the door, striking a pose. As they entered the palace was in a state of grand disarray, people running everywhere and nowhere trying to organize for something. Everyone bowed when Genie passed them, giving wary looks towards Jayson, which he returned with equal intensity. As they made their way into a large throne room, a man stood up from his position and began to walk towards Genie, arms outstretched and a smile on his patchy face. His skin was a dark tan from years of being under the sun, with a large white turban and robes to match.

"Genie! I'm so glad you're alright! Jasmine and I were worried that you had fallen to the Heartless... and who is this? More help for us? We could use it, but I'm not sure where we could put him..." the Genie teleported behind the man and began to massage his shoulders and pinch his cheeks.

"Oh Al old buddy old pal, you wouldn't _believe _the time I had taking those things out! Luckily I ran into this boy, he seems to have Sora's _you know what_ that's useful for slaying the Heartless. What a find, amirite?" He whipped around Aladdin and began to shake Jayson's shoulders violently, causing his hood to fall down, revealing to the two of them his blue hair. Jayson quickly pushed himself away and pulled the hood back up... after realizing how useless that was given that Sora had been here he pulled the hood down and took the mask off.

"I guess it's useless to try and hide it, my name is Jayson and I'm a keyblade wielder like Genie said. I came here because your world called out to me, it's in danger of falling to darkness."

"Wouldn't be the first time, whenever Sora came around we knew that something was up." Aladdin smiled softly as he put a hand to his heart. Jayson tilted his head.

"You knew Sora, too?" _"Just how far does his influence go? What's his connection to... everyone?"_

"Oh yeah! Sora's been here plenty of times! Like when Jafar was trying to conquer Agrabah, or that time where he tried to find the Keyhole!" Jayson's head snapped over to the Genie at the mention of the Keyhole, he ran up to him, pumping his fist excitedly, hoping, _praying _that this would make things easier.

"You know where the Keyhole is?! That's what I'm here for!" Genie and Aladdin looked at each other skeptically, wrapped their arms around each other and turned around, whispering quietly to each other and pointing behind them towards Jayson. After some time they turned back around and Aladdin coughed before speaking again,

"So, you're looking for the Keyhole? What do you plan on doing to it?"

"I plan to seal it, there's a new organization after these worlds, they plan on unsealing the Keyholes and letting the Heartless destroy enter them." Jayson was offended that they suspected him at all, but given that they've dealt with this before, he wasn't surprised. He wasn't ready for Aladdin to rip his robes off, revealing a purple vest and baggy white pants underneath. Scimitar at his side. He smiled widely before walking past Jayson, speaking avidly.

"It's been awhile since I've been out adventuring, come on Genie!"

"Wait! I can't let you get mixed up in this! If you were lost to the heartless, the people here would be losing their ruler."

"That may be true, but this is _my_ world, too. And I won't sit by while the Heartless try to destroy my home! Now let's go!" Jayson couldn't help but smile, he began to follow Aladdin out of the palace and out of the town. They passed by some stores and Aladdin bought some items to help them on their travels. _"He's smart, and willing to step in and help, even knowing the risk to himself. No wonder these people chose him as his ruler."_

"You coming Jayson!?" Aladdin had already made it to the gates, not realizing that he had stood still thinking about it. He nodded enthusiastically, running towards the gate. _"This is going to be the first time I'll be traveling with someone else, this i'll be interesting"_As he made it to Aladdin they nodded towards one another and began the long trek towards the Cave of Wonders, towards their next adventure.

GummiPhone Entries:

Aladdin: The current ruler of Agrabah, he started out as a street rat and through his courage and bravery was able to steal the heart of the princess Jasmine. He carries his scimitar with him in case he ever has to defend himself.

Cave of Wonders: The hidden location of the Keyhole, it will only open itself to those pure of heart. Or those looking to save the world from sure destruction. Aladdin and Genie are the only two who know of it's true location.


	11. Chapter 9

Another Heartless was sliced down by Aladdin after being stunned by Jayson's minor Thunder spell. Breathing a sigh of relief the man turned to Jayson with a smile on his face.

"You know, you're surprisingly good with the Keyblade, how long have you been training with it?" Jayson was taken aback, he hadn't really been keeping track of the time, since world hopping messed with things like that.

"If I have to give an amount of time I'd say... almost a month?" It wasn't wrong, and they continued to walk in the sunset as they spoke. Aladdin laughed heartily before continuing,

"A month? Jeez... it must be hard, huh? You suddenly have all this responsibility that you weren't prepared for thrust on you and they expect you to work with it better than the last." Aladdin's features softened as he spoke, melancholy lacing his voice. Jayson turned to him, surprised that he had understood, and he voiced as such.

"It's like... I _know _how important it is to defeat them and save the worlds... and I'm trying to follow my heart. But what if by the end of everything and after all I've pushed through, It won't be enough? That I'll fall just short of what is needed."

"But we can't think like that, we have to have hope that we'll be able to find a way, I mean, Sora did." The temperature had gotten lower and lower and both were beginning to shiver in the biting cold. They decided to set up camp and sleep on it, Aladdin promising they would be to the cave of wonders by nightfall. As Jayson fell onto his sleeping bag, sleep came easily to him, however restless it would be...

Jayson's eyes opened to see darkness, nothing spanning out in all directions. He felt a paralyzing fear, but it wasn't unfamiliar. He began to run, and as he stepped the darkness under his feet had begun to shift as light replaced his steps and rippled outwards. In the distance he saw several figures, all unclear except for two. The pink robed woman that he had seen, and a boy with spiky brown hair that he immediately recognized, calling out their names on instinct as his vision began to darken and then fall to light.

"SORA! AVA!" Jayson shot up from his bag, hand outstretched as his Keyblade materialized within his hand, a single tear falling down his face. He de-summoned the blade and wiped away at his tears, Aladdin was already packing up when he heard the commotion, rushing over quickly.

"You alright Jayson? If I'd have known you were having a nightmare I would've woken you up when I did." He chuckled softly, but upon seeing Jayson's pensive face he decided to leave him be, letting him know that he'd be ready whenever Jayson was. A small thank you was pressed through his lips as he fully begun his contemplation. _"Was Ava her name, the girl in robes? Is she a Foreteller? But why would I know her name? And How did I know what the Foretellers were called to begin with? How is _Sora _tied into all of this?! AUGH! This is so confusing! I have to press on, I'll be able to find out what I need to and Aladdin's waiting on me." _He stretched and groaned loudly as he did so before getting up and rolling up his sleeping bag up and stepping up to where Aladdin was. He put on his best smile before apologizing,

"Sorry about that, I didn't mean to scare you, I have these dreams sometimes. This one had to do with-"

"Sora and Ava, now I know Sora but who's Ava, if you don't mind me asking?" Jayson didn't know how to respond, so he remained quiet and begun walking away.

"...You know the cave of wonders is _that _way, right?" He pointed to the right, Jayson turned around and scratched the back of his neck and laughed in embarrassment.

"I knew that! Hahahahahaha...ehhh." after sharing a laugh with Aladdin they had begun to tread the path Aladdin knew all too well, ready for anything.

Kairi had been treading what felt like the same path for _days_! She may have not been a princess of Heart anymore but she was still a heart filled to the brim with light, a viable target. She had been slaying Heartless left and right, healing all her wounds as she went. She was surprisingly not tired after all of this, her drive to find Riku and make it back to Jayson to apologize pushing her beyond her limit. As she began to find her way closer to a familiar yet foreign area of the Realm Of Darkness she stopped when she heard a familiar voice, haughty and proud.

"Oh how the mighty have fallen! How does it feel being knocked off your pedestal, guardian?" Kairi could hear a response from Riku, however faint it was, but the man kept going, she decided to tread softly as he began going on about his master and how the plan was going off without a hitch. She heard the summoning of a Keyblade and begun to pick up speed, she rounded the corner and saw the robed Luxu and immediately sprung into action, healing Riku with a Curaga and launching herself between them, defending against his attack.

"Riku! Fight with me! For Sora and Jayson! YOU CAN'T GIVE UP NOW!" Riku, having been fully healed and hearing Kairi's words sprung into action, summoning his hefty blade he struck at Luxu with ferocity. And Kairi with grace, they swapped out and begun to gain ground over him, but Luxu just kept backing up and summoning Heartless, not giving them the opportunity to fight him. He yelled over the cries of the Heartless as he summoned a new portal.

"You think having each other means you've won? You're dead wrong! We'll crush you guys beneath our feet and establish ourselves as we once were, Toodles!" He turned and fled through the portal, leaving the two wielders to their fate within the Darkness.


	12. Chapter 10

Night had fallen once more and Jayson felt like they hadn't made much progress. It was just sand, sand, and look at that, _more_ sand!

"Hey, Aladdin, when will we get there? It feels like we've been walking in circles…"

"We're almost there, it should be riiiight here!" As he stopped he sunk his scimitar in the sand, grabbing his chest with his right hand. A loud rumble began to encompass the area as the sand began sinking into a center point. Jayson stood in bewilderment at what he was seeing. A massive stone head of a Tiger, moving around and growling loudly, as he set himself still the head began to speak, even when its mouth wasn't moving.

_Only those with a pure heart may enter my domain… take nothing and you shall leave unscathed, mortal. _The head then opened its mouth, revealing an entrance further under the ground, the head then sat still, as if it were a statue.

"He sure seems… friendly.." Jayson approached the mouth slowly, feeling an odd sense of deja-vu. As he got closer he saw someone already in the entrance, the figure fled further in, robes billowing behind them. Jayson immediately began to sprint into the entrance, yelling towards Aladdin,

"I saw someone with robes, it must be a Foreteller! Come on, before they get to the Keyhole first!" Aladdin was close behind Jayson, and took over leading down into the cave. A few Heartless began spawning along the stairs, being dispatched quickly by the duo. As they reached the bottom a massive sandstone door closed, leaving them to deal with the remaining Heartless. Their scimitars swaying back and forth with their erratic motions. Backs to the door, they prepared to fight.

"Stop!" Jayson yelled at the nearest heartless, forcing all motion to stop at once, he then laid an assault of blows on the creature, using wide strokes so he wasn't surrounded as Aladdin as he began circling around the group, flanking them and dispatching them with his weapon. The Heartless Jayson stopped began recoiling erratically before disappearing into a puff of smoke and cloth. Jayson stumbled as another one pounced on him, trying to dig and scratch at his face and torso, it gained some ground and managed to leave a gash on his right arm. Yelling in pain Jayson fell to the ground fully, the thing on top of him, he was wounded and flailing as the Heartless continued its assault with more ferocity. Just as Jayson was losing control the creature disappeared as Aladdin stood over him, sweat lingering on his face as he lent a hand to allow Jayson to get up. As he stood Jayson gasped in pain and grabbed his arm quickly, trying to stifle the blood flow, Aladdin reached into his satchel and grabbed a potion. Uncorking it, he handed the bottle to Jayson, the mouth of the bottle at his lips.

"Here, drink this." Jayson grabbed it and gulped it swiftly, and his wounds began to mend themselves back together, and he winced slightly.

"That always feels really weird. Thanks, Al." They turned to the door, which had mysteriously opened, and began to walk through it. The staircase began again and went by without much incident. They entered a small room with several statues shaped like strangely proportioned faces, flames within their mouth and millions upon millions of golden coins littering the floor and walls. The duo looked towards each other before nodding and beginning to tread carefully around the coins. After some time they made it to the other side, and they sighed in relief. Aladdin spoke, putting a hand on Jayson's shoulder,

"Before we go and see what's on the other side, I wanted to thank you for coming here and helping us, you didn't have to, you could have turned tail and ran back to some other, more peaceful world. But you did, and that's what makes you a hero, not some stupid blade or a mission from your elder, it's in _here_." He pointed to Jayson's heart, and a sudden warmth spread through it. In that moment Jayson understood what he meant, and why it was his responsibility to see it through. He breathed in deeply and turned to Aladdin, a smile splitting from ear to ear and his head tilted to the side.

"No problem, I know you would have done it if you were in my shoes! Now let's go and seal this Keyhole!" Aladdin was taken aback, for a second he could've swore he saw Sora again within that smile, he shook the feeling off and they turned to the door, ready now for whatever they may face.

Riku and Kairi sat at The Dark Margin, knowing that soon they would leave this place and return to the realm of light. They felt a powerful tug within their hearts, the same kind when Sora called them into action during the Keyblade War. They knew it was time, and together they summoned a light portal and stepped through together, smiles on their faces, knowing deep in their hearts that things would end up truly okay.

GummiPhone entries:

The Dark Margin: A location in the Realm of Darkness. It is connected to the realm of light due to its closeness with Destiny Islands.


	13. Chapter 11

As Jayson and Aladdin stepped through the door into the vast chamber, noticing it was mostly empty with a couple of broken pillars to the sides, and a platform directly across the room led to an opening, shaped like a keyhole, yet the actual Keyhole hasn't appeared yet, they circled the room on either side, weapons at the ready. As Jayson neared the other end of the room and climbed up the platform a blinding light flashed and the pink robed woman appeared once again, Jayson was once again taken aback and readied his weapon. The woman smiled sadly, holding her hands out in a gesture of surrender. She began to slowly walk up to Jayson, cupping his face with a single hand, inspecting him for scratches and wounds, like a mother to her child.

"Jayson… my, how you've grown. I'm happy that you were able to fly away and escape. But fate brings you back to us, and to the Keyblade. I'm sorry, I've already sealed the Keyhole of this world, but the attack is still coming, please be ready Jayson! May-" Before her final words could be uttered a gust of wind and purple-blue smoke billowed into the cave. The woman's form began to dissipate and flow away into sand, circling the room before settling randomly around it. From the smoke the Genie appeared, haggard and exhausted, despite this his features lit up as he saw Jayson and Aladdin, and he rounded upon them quickly. Jayson stood by, staring at where the Keyhole once was, a hand on his cheek, wondering what had just happened. "_I'll have to talk to Yen Sid about this…"_

"OH AL, IT'S HORRIBLE! THIS MASSIVE STORM WAS BREWING BUT IT SEEMS LIKE IT WAS HEADED STRAIGHT FOR THE PALACE, I HELD IT OFF FOR AS LONG AS I COULD BUT I NEED YOUR GUYS' HELP!" His words came out quick and bellowy, without any further thought Genie cast a spell that enveloped them in smoke and before they knew it they were in front of Agrabah. A sand storm was brewing a fair ways away, but it wasn't an ordinary storm, something near the eye of the storm looked off, it was darker, like the creature had formed itself inside the storm itself. That's when it hit Jayson.

"This is the Heartless from when I first got here! We have to deal with it, or it's gonna destroy the whole city!" WIthout any further hesitation Jayson ran towards the beast.

As he approached the creature, he noticed clumps of sand and structures from other places the Heartless had sucked up to create it's stormy armor. He cast an Aero spell and launched himself high into the air, using the descent to land on one of the structures. It began circling back into the eye of the storm, and once he was close enough Jayson jumped off and began letting forth a flurry of midair blows, mixing his magic in to try and damage it further. After a fair amount of hits the Heartless exploded a gust of wind outwards, launching Jayson but not hurting him. As he landed in the sand he saw a flying figure in the distance, it was Aladdin and Genie riding a carpet of some sort, waving to them signaling where he was before repeating his process from earlier, however he decided to use exclusively magics this time and after several Fires finished with a massive Blizzara blast. This froze the creature in place but the storm remained around him. He was launched out once more, being cut deeply by the debris before landing with a harsh thud in the sand. Aladdin and Genie had made it and stood over Jayson worryingly. He stood up on his knee, grasping at his side, before using a potion to heal himself, and he growled softly.

"We gotta get rid of that storm, if we can do that then we should be able to get some good hits in… any ideas?"

"Leave it to me! Watch _this_!" Genie then put his hands together before pulling them apart to reveal an oddly shaped blue mass that, after the snap of his fingers, became a mock Keyblade of his own. He smiled mischievously at Al, as the other man drew his scimitar and smiled back. Jayson had a feeling it was about to get wild.

Genie then grabbed Aladdin and launched him towards a bit of debris, motioning for Jayson to follow, he did, using Aero again. As he and Aladdin approached the center Jayson thought of something that could immobilize the creature for a small period of time, Genie came up behind Jayson and nodded, knowing what he was planning. Switching to the shooting star, he mustered up all the remaining magical energy he had left and pushed it into one spell.

"GRAVIZA!" A giant black orb surrounded the creature, and it began to shake and shift heavily with the added weight of three suns. The storm subsided and the sand fell slowly to the ground and the creature fell. Once it hit the ground a massive crater of glass and sand exploded forth. As Aladdin landed he stepped towards the creature, it had dissipated into the typical black smoke, leaving behind a glass orb, darkened with the sooty residue in the middle of the crater. Jayson landed as well, although much less gracefully, and immediately began to stumble to his knees. Genie held him up and walked him to the edge of the crater. As he gazed into the orb he could feel nothing, not the darkness that was there, and not the presence he felt in the cave of wonders. He sighed in relief before being handed a blue cube by the Genie.

"Here bud, this should help you feel less exhausted." As Jayson bit into the cube he found it was surprisingly chewy, he felt instantly relieved and relaxed and thanked Genie.

"Was that the only one?" He asked Genie, he nodded and gesticulated wildly.

"All the other ones are small fry, we can handle them, thanks for your help buddy!" Aladdin approached from the side, patting Jayson on the shoulder, smiling.

"I guess this is the part where you leave cause there are other worlds out there that need your help, huh?" Jayson nodded sadly, he had fun traveling with Aladdin, but he knew what he had to do.

"I gotta go and report some of the things that've happened here to someone who knows more about what's going on than I do, but I'll come by later to come visit! I promise!" Aladdin and Genie smiled and began to walk away, their goodbyes having been said. And Jayson pulled his Keyblade out and opened a portal back to the Mysterious Tower, and stepped through it.

Gummiphone Entries:

The Mysterious Tower: The location tied to twilight town where Master Yen Sid resides.


	14. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Yen Sid was sitting at his desk at the top of his tower when he heard the mirror linked to The Land of Departure begin to activate, grunting softly as he stood, he walked over to the mirror and allowed the call to come through. A woman appeared in the mirror, with shoulder length blue hair and eyes. She smiled and bowed at the elderly man, before her gaze became serious.

"Master, I looked into the Foretellers like you asked, many of the texts that we were able to find had scarce mention of them, only their names and the ancient unions they once ruled over in the time of fairy tales. But I'm confused, how can people from before the first Keyblade war be here now, terrorizing the worlds they so wanted to protect?" Yen Sid had no answer for the young woman, and before he could tell her as much a portal opened in the middle of the room and Jayson walked out of it, a small smile on his face.

"Ah, Jayson, I see you have returned, did you have something to report?" Jayson's smile grew and he nodded enthusiastically, he noticed the mirror and stood next to Yen Sid, bowing at the image and then at the master himself.

"Who is this, master? Is this one Riku and Kairi's…" Jayson's face fell at the mention of his missing masters, and the atmosphere of the room dropped slightly, before Jayson bounced back up and began to explain what had happened on the world of Agrabah.

"...then I found this Keychain in the sand before coming here, I'm glad I was able to meet Aladdin and Genie, they helped me see what I had to do." Aqua smiled softly before asking,

"So, how do you know this Ava person? If she's a foreteller like you said, then why was she helping you? On that note, what did she mean by 'fly away and escape'?"

"I honestly don't know, I don't know who Ava is, but she must be good if she's betraying her allies to save the worlds!" He sounded almost hopeful, ready to find her again so he could ask her himself. It was a strange thing, seeing the downcast wielder so hopeful and excited after seeing his dejected self from before. Yen Sid assumed that he had found something out while in whatever world he had traveled to. It almost reminded him of Sora. The thought of the selfless boy sent a pang of guilt through the elderly master, he should have stopped him from doing what he did, but knew that it was futile, as that was what fate had in store for the boy. He quickly dashed those feelings away and turned his full attention to the child in front of him.

"You must go and find this woman and see what she has to do with the Foretellers and their plans, while you are out and saving the worlds." Jayson nodded, bidding the two masters farewell and creating a portal for himself, which he stepped through. Aqua sighed before bidding the elderly man farewell and cutting communications off. He turned and sat back in his seat, stroking his beard in deep thought. Was the fate of this boy still written, unchanging, or did he have his own path to carve? No one could say, not even Yen Sid himself knew.

As Jayson stepped through the portal, he felt a new wave of energy, and began to sprint down the darkened corridors. Midway through his run he was suddenly struck from the side, falling as a dark voice spoke to him.

"You know nothing of yourself, you are filled with darkness." Jayson clutched his head and began to scream as images flooded his mind, of a town bathed in light, worlds and confusion, and a being of darkness. It was filled with malice and destruction, and it wanted him dead. He fought it and defeated the beast, but at the cost of a piece of himself. He then saw a battlefield, thousands upon thousands of people fighting to the bitter end, spilling blood on the ancient, sandy stone ground beneath their feet. The pain erupting from his mind was too much to bear, and he fell unconscious upon the ground. As he lay there, water began to fill below him, and he was washed away into an unknown world.

"Do you think he's still alive? And why do we have to use my bed for this? He's ruining my perfectly good dirt collection!"

"Zip it, mole, he's up anyways, stop your complaining!" That voice was feminine, and Jayson awoke to see several people surrounding him, one was a blonde woman, dressed in combat gear, another was a man with a bushy mustache, a plate over his torso, and a red stick in his hands. One of them was wearing a strange thing on his head, and he wore white scrubs. Sitting close to the bed was a round… thing that looked like a mole. An older man who didn't look his age was eyeing Jayson darkly from across the room, and in the corner, a beanpole of a man, hunched down and reading a book of some sort, muttering strings of words that Jayson could barely understand. He stood up and had an array of weapons pointed at him, one of which was the red stick from the man. The older man walked between them all and stood before the bed. He cleared his throat and began speaking,

"Who are you, and what is your business on this vessel?" Jayson was taken aback slightly, very few people question one extra person, these people must be on some sort of mission, so he responded in kind,

"My name is Jayson, and I can't tell you why I'm here, I only remember waking up on this bed." A gleam in their eyes, they didn't believe him one bit, but before they had a chance to press, a man came through the door and screamed before going still, limp, and his body dissipated as a heartless took its place. The doctor sprang into action, hacking the heartless to bits with a flurry of cuts. Jayson hurriedly asked,

"Where did that guy come from?"

"The main bridge, we got to go! Milo, come on, your book will help us out, hurry!" They all fled the room quickly, with Jayson not far behind. As they made their way into the main bridge, several men were already taken and turned into heartless. they were made of water and used their bodies to attack the other crew members. The mustached man used his dynamite, the doctor man had a hacksaw and his fists, the blonde woman was using a pistol, as was the older man. The mole man and Milo were further back, the mole man was chucking dirt and Milo was using his book to swat feebly at them. Jayson, deciding his Keyblade would raise more questions than he was willing to answer now, began using his magic instead, several shots of fire later and the group had beaten the impending hoard. They all turned to Milo.

"Anything in your little book say anything about creatures that turn men into more of their own?" The older man didn't wait for a response as he turned to Jayson with a fire in his eyes.

"And you! What was that hocus pocus mumbo jumbo you just pulled off?" Jayson winced, knowing this would happen, he sighed before speaking.

"Before I answer that, can I ask some questions of my own after I tell you?" The man nodded and Jayson continued,

"So, I'm a guardian, I help people who need my help, those creatures are what I deal with, you can defeat them, but they won't go away permanently unless I use this," He flourishes his Keyblade into his hand. "It's called a Keyblade, it can open any lock and I need to find a seal a lock hidden somewhere in this world, or else this place is going to be destroyed." They all blinked at him several times, Milo spoke up first,

"Well, I can't _not _believe in what I saw with my own eyes, if you can help us survive the trip then I'm fine with letting him on board."

"But what if it's a trap? He said he had amnesia when he first woke up, I don't think that's something we can overlook!" The blonde woman spoke calmly, but the doctor seemed amused.

"Honestly? He helped us fight those monsters, so I say he's fine, but I won't trust him."

"You don't have to trust me; I'm going to help regardless. and It seems like I'm stuck here anyways, now can we answer some of my questions?" Milo snorted before quickly trying to cover it up. Everyone rolled their eyes and the older man responded,

"Within reason, now ask."

"Who are you people? And what's your mission?" Milo responded quickly,

"I'm Milo, the doctor is Joshua Strongbear Sweet, the mustached man is Vincenzo Santorini, but you can call him 'Vinny', the mole guy is Gaetan, but we just call him 'The Mole', the blonde woman is Helga Katrina Sinclair, and the older gentleman is Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke. We're looking for the lost city of Atlantis using this book!" Milo lifts the book up for Jayson to see, and quickly Jayson can read the page, it mentions something about a guardian of the city they must pass in order to get in.

"That's… interesting, so when's the guardian gonna show up?" The crew looks at him, astonished, he turns to them, uneasy. "What? is there something in my teeth?"

"No, it's just that, the book is written in Atlantean, Milo spent years of studying just to be able to read it, and here you are, just read the page like it was second nature to you!" The doctor smacked Jayson on the back, knocking the wind out of him and he chuckled nervously as a result. Milo looked just as astonished and slightly… hurt, but before anyone could say anything else the submarine rocked hard after being hit by _something_. A giant mass swam past the window and Jayson dismissed his Keyblade, looking worried.

"Guess we just found our guardian."

GummiPhone entries:

Milo: A meek man with a large intelligence and a knack of the unknown and supernatural, he guides the expedition to Atlantis with an ancient book filled with Knowledge.

Joshua Strongbear Sweet: The doctor of the expedition, a kind man with a big heart and a sharp hacksaw.

Vincenzo 'Vinny' Santorini: The Demolitions expert on the expedition, he uses sticks of dynamite to blow up his enemies.

Gaetan 'The Mole': While Vinny uses demolitions to carve a path, Gaetan uses drills and his hands to dig his way to his destination, he collects dirt and is very inappropriate.

Helga Katrina Sinclair: Second in command of the expedition to Atlantis, she seems levelheaded and calm.

Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke: The commander of the expedition to Atlantis, he is suspicious of Jayson, and he seems to harbor some secrets of his own…

The Guardian: An Atlantean guard for one of the entrances to Atlantis.


	15. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The scaly beast roared in defiance, its glassy eyes staring into the bridge of the vessel, completely yellow, and brimming with darkness.

"Dammit, it's been turned into a heartless!"

"Then do something about it!"

"You think I can _survive_ out there!?" Jayson practically screeched. "I may have magic, but I'm not a miracle worker! We have to find some way around it!" Milo surged towards the controls, to everyone's surprise, and began to pilot the machine down a specific path.

"The book mentions a path that the beast can't get through, but we should be able to just fine, Jayson!" he turns to the boy, tossing him the book before returning to the controls. "Read the directions out to me so I don't crash us into the sea floor!" Jayson fumbles with the book for a moment before opening it, realizing its upside down, and flipping it right side up. He finds the page and points to the passage to help his reading.

"Turn right in three hundred feet!" Milo complies, the tunnel begins to slowly narrow, the beast is tailing them and gaining quickly.

"There's a sharp nosedive about two hundred feet ahead!" Milo doesn't waste a second as the dive is performed with admirable ability. The beast attempts to follow them, but can't due to the slim opening, just large enough for the submarine. As they descend further, everyone breathes a sigh of relief, and converges on Milo.

"How did you manage to pilot this thing? Even Helga had trouble with that!" Milo sheepishly shied away from pats on the back and held his hands up.

"I just watched the commander and some of the subordinates do it, and asked them the right questions, I guess. But we wouldn't have made it in time if Jayson wasn't able to read the Atlantean."

"You still managed to pull through and act when it was needed, you did just as much, if not _more_, than I did, Milo." Jayson slung an arm around him, and shook him lightly, he recoiled and adjusted his glasses, and sheepishly held his hand out, after receiving the book back he bid everyone a short farewell and retired to his quarters.

"Why is he like that?"

"It's how academic types are, real reserved and what-not, best to not bother thinking about it. Get some rest, it should be smooth sailing from here, we'll wake you if we need you." The commander dismissed them, and Jayson followed the Mole and the Doctor back to their quarters, making a small space for himself, he rested his head, and drifted into the darkness.

Jayson began to float down, and down, and even further down. Once he landed upon the ground he knew where he was, he's seen this before. He just couldn't place where he had seen it. The platform was made of stained glass, with beautiful art depicting himself, in a position of battle, with a strange Keyblade, gold and black, with purple, it glowed with the brilliance of a star's light and he was surrounded by people with masks- The Foretellers- each one surrounding him, all except for one, the mask of the Fox, which sat by his side. _"Ava… how are we connected?"_ A voice suddenly spoke to him amidst the silence.

"You have so very much to learn about yourself, and about me. the one who is parallel to you, yet also connected."

"What do you mean?!" Suddenly three small pedestals erupted on the four 'corners' of the circular platform, the one in front held a sword, the one to the left held a shield, the one to the right held a staff, and the one behind him held a blinding radiant ball of light. Jayson instinctively approached the staff, and the voice spoke once again,

"The staff of Magic, a wonderful thing that can also bring ruin, is this the power you seek?" Without hesitation Jayson responded with a nod, and the staff disappeared, and the voice spoke once more,

"Now, what will you give up in exchange?" Jayson then approached the radiant ball of light, and once again the voice boomed,

"The light of the Heart, a heavy toll, but mastery of its counterpart may also be beneficial, are you sure you wish to give up this power… for now?" Hesitantly, Jayson nodded, and the light became overgrown with darkness, and so too did the platform, engulfing it, and swallowing Jayson whole. As he began to writhe within the darkness a different voice called out to him, the same one from the portal leading to Milo's world.

"You are weak to give up your light so easily, I will consume you, and all hope will be lost!"

"Remember, Jayson, you have the most powerful weapon of all…" And a thousand voices began speaking the same word at once, at varying volumes and intensities,

"KEYBLADE!"

Jayson shot awake, a cold sweat dripping down his forehead, he wiped it off quickly and noticed that no one else was in the room with him, for the better he thought, no one had to see whatever embarrassing movements he did during that strange dream… He pushed himself up and began to walk towards the bridge and noticed that everyone was waiting for him. The commander spoke first,

"Oh, good, I was hoping we wouldn't have to wake you up, we surfaced in a cave that was mentioned in the kid's book, so we're heading out and we could use the extra hands to help us against those fartless-"

"Heartless"

"yeah, yeah, whatever. let's roll out people!" The upper hatch was opened, and everyone climbed out, Jayson following right after Milo, and the hours of work to unpack everything had begun.

Much, _much_ later than Jayson would like to admit, and they were done, a massive drill and many crates filled with Vinny's dynamite were out in the cave opening, as well as some military vehicles. The drilling began, with explosions soon to follow what the drill could not penetrate. Everyone who wasn't throwing dynamite or drilling was following closely behind in the vehicles, Milo ended up sitting next to Jayson, and awkwardly coughed to get his attention.

"So, Jayson, uh, you can read this Atlantean, right?"

"I guess? I don't know it by that name, we call it Mooglish, it's an old language spoken by some shopkeepers scattered around the worlds."

"You mean there are _other worlds!?_ A-and they're populated by other _people?!_" Jayson winces once again _'So much for the world order…'_

"Y-yeah, but don't tell the others, please?" Milo nodded vigorously, he then opened his book and flipped it to a specific page.

"Hey, so these next few chapters were always hard for me to decipher, and no matter what I tried, they always came out as a garbled mess. Think you could read them?" He hands the open book to the boy and Jayson is almost taken aback by the familiarity he feels towards the handwriting, but he can't place a name to the person. _'Been doing that a lot lately.'_ and he begins to read. He's shocked to find a detailed description of events that were obviously supposed to happen later than they were written, but what was most curious was the wording used right at the end. "Fly away from this place and sink beneath the ocean, escape the hand fate has dealt you and prove my theory correct. Signed, No Name." Jayson's hands began to shake as he handed Milo the book back, confusion written on the other man's face,

"So… what did you read?"

"It's… a lead, on my other mission, I'm looking for someone I forgot. Someone that knows me, they're fighting on my side, but they aren't here with me anymore. They helped those people escape their fate, it's why Atlantis was lost, they didn't perish, they fled destruction and made a new home under the sea… but I still don't know why they did it." Milo gazed down at the book, now slightly mortified at the news. He put a hand on Jayson's shoulder,

"You'll find them, you've gained some more knowledge on a situation you previously knew nothing about, that's got to count for something, right?" Jayson nodded in agreement and kept his gaze forward, thinking about what he had just read.

After some time, everyone had set up camp, they had dug out onto an open cave, which led deeper down into the unknown. Jayson told everyone he'd be gone for a minute and trudged off into a quiet place. He readied his Keyblade, and Riku appeared before him, almost as if he was there, and Jayson began to fight. Slashing and swiping at his master as he feigned the appropriate blocks and dodges, making sure to use as little magic as possible, he needed to bump his strength to keep up with the Heartless he'd be facing. As he neared the end of his session, he heard some footsteps behind him, and swung around to find Milo nose deep in his book, mystified. His gaze swung upward, and he let out an awkward greeting.

"H-hey, Jayson, I know you didn't want to be disturbed, but I had some more questions to ask about some more of the book that I can't read…"

"Sure, let me see it." As Milo hands him the book he notices that it's a chapter on magical abilities, there were the basics, like Fire, Water, Ice, etc. But further along he saw a page that caught his attention.

_Lethal Frame: Use your most powerful 'stop' spell on your enemy, and your weakest 'haste' spell on yourself, this allows for a massive flurry of blows to be dealt to said enemy, which will become damaged once the spell is released either automatically or by the user. Level of difficulty: Master Level Spell._

"It's a whole chapter about magic!" _"I'll have to remember that one spell though, it could be really useful later…" _Milo's face fell at the news,

"Oh, so it's not for me then…" Jayson looked shocked, before having a bright idea.

"Hey Milo, hold my Keyblade."

"What?! I couldn't do that! It's yours!" He began gesticulating wildly, trying to come up with some excuse, but Jayson just pushed the weapon into his hands. Milo harrumphed as he held the weapon on his shoulder, nearly falling over from its weight. "It's heavy, why did you want me to do this?"

"Hold it straight forward," Milo complied, "Now I want you to think about the feeling of fire, a burning sensation, do you feel it?" Milo scrunched his face up and nodded after a minute of thinking, "That very essence of fire, build it up and hold onto it for a second," Milo nodded when he was ready to continue, "Now use the Keyblade as a conduit and let the fire out!" Milo released a cry as a bullet of flame shot forth from the Keyblade, which was dismissed shortly after. Jayson smirked.

"See? You can do it! Even without a Keyblade, there are plenty of spells to use, just think of basic elements for now, Fire, Water, Wind, Ice, and Lightning. The more you practice the better you'll get. I promise, and you can do all of them without a Keyblade! Neat, huh?" Milo stared forward, astonished at what he had done, he turned to the wielder, bewildered.

"H-h-how did you know I could pull it off?" Jayson chuckled.

"I felt a spark of light, deep down, and I knew that you could use magic. That's all." Milo's mouth was agape at this point, and he quickly shut it. They turned when they heard the others calling for them.

"We should probably head back now, yeah?"

"Yeah, but make sure to keep your magic a secret, okay? We don't know who we can trust here…"

"Right…" And they began to make their way back to their camp, unaware of the shadow watching them from afar, opening a corridor of darkness and exiting silently.

GummiPhone Entries:

Dive to the Heart (Station of Awakening): The area that Jayson found himself in while he slept, the stained glass reflects the person's heart and the connections they hold. It was not mentioned, but Riku, Kairi, as well as the other guardians of light are shown on Jayson's Station.

Lethal Frame: A high level spell, which combines 'Stop', 'Haste', as well as physical attacks to overwhelm the enemy with damaging slashes that register after the spell is ceased.

Milo*: A meek man with a large intelligence and a knack of the unknown and supernatural, he guides the expedition to Atlantis with an ancient book filled with Knowledge. He is a mage, but this is kept secret from the rest of the expedition.

The Book of Atlantis: The book Milo wields; it contains knowledge of the Atlanteans and of certain secrets that only Jayson seems to be able to read…

*Seeing a character that has already been used in the GummiPhone with and asterisk (*) beside their name means the information on this person has been updated or expanded upon.


	16. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

As the night wound down (though it was hard to tell in a cave with no natural light) everyone began to make camp. Jayson set up his tent but decided against using it in favor of keeping watch in case any heartless appeared. He could hear the pitter-patter of water falling from the stalactites onto the cave floor, it was so rhythmic that he began to nod off… only to be sharply awoken by the sound of hushed voices. They sounded like the Commander and Helga. He stealthily made it way behind the drill, and listened closely,

"...but the kid could get in the way of the plan, you saw how Milo acted after he went to go fetch him. I think he's onto us."

"If he's done something it wouldn't matter, Milo is powerless and the kid won't attack us without good cause, he assumes we're all on the same side, you're being paranoid over nothing-"

"Helga, if this kid tries to stop our takeover it'll be on _your_ head, got that?" Jayson gasped, quickly shoving his hand over his mouth to stop them from hearing, but it was too late. Swiftly - too swift and quiet for someone like the Commander - Jayson was overtaken and lifted, hand trapped over his mouth, unable to scream for help.

"I _knew _it! The little bastard was _spying _on us!"

"What should we do about him?" Helga placed a hand on her hip, expression stiff. Jayson could feel the commander eyeing their surroundings and noticed something that caught the young wielders eyes as well. _"The waterfall! Shit shit shit shit shit shi-!"_ Before Jayson could scream, and even before he was able to take a breath in, he was tossed over the edge, careening down into the waves below. He began to struggle immediately, trying to find what was up from down, but the force of the waves began to push and pull him in all directions, before being spat out into a dark chamber, completely different from the rest of the caves he had seen previously. On one end of the room was a stairway leading upwards, and near the center of the room, floating high above his head, was a great stone statue of many faces, with a blue pulsating crystal in its center. As Jayson surfaces, he began vomiting water, shivering from the cold and shock of being tossed around like a ragdoll. But now he knew where the darkness was coming from in this world. _"I've got to find a way to warn the others."_ Suddenly there were several people surrounding him, each wearing a large mask, extending down to their feet, leaving no trace of their bodies to be seen, they each bared a spear, pointed directly at the boy's neck. Jayson gulped nervously as the masked person in front of him spoke.

"Who are you, and why are you in this sacred place?" The voice was feminine,

"I-I was tossed down a waterfall in a cave up above, I barely managed to survive, I promise to explain everything to you as long as I can make it out of here alive!" The onlookers seemed stunned, not realizing what he had done. The woman - Jayson assumed it was a woman – spoke again.

"How do you know our language, outsider?" _"This must be part of the abilities the clothing has, thanks Yen Sid!"_ Jayson warily stood, the spears following his movements with caution, and he held his hands up in surrender.

"I'm not from these lands, or the lands above, I come bearing a light to push away the darkness, please let me speak to your leader so that I can explain everything to them… please…" His voice became small, and sounded almost pleading, even to himself. Jayson was a bit embarrassed. The woman laughed before lowering her spear slightly.

"Prove it, outsider." Jayson wasted no time in summoning his Keyblade, and all the masked people immediately jumped back, before collecting themselves and taking a knee, all chanting the word 'Keybearer'. The woman stayed standing, gazing in awe at the blade, before lowering her spears and barking orders to the underlings in a language that Jayson couldn't understand before being flanked and lightly pushed forward, towards the staircase, the woman following a bit to the right. As they ascended the stairway a small amount of light could be seen, and as they broke through the barrier between below ground and above, Jayson's jaw dropped when he gazed upon the absolute majesty of the city he had been escorted into. There were vehicles flying in the air as if they were swimming, and the moonlight perfectly lit the blue and orange hues of the shops and homes. Adults and children alike were bustling to and fro, merchants were selling their wares and food items. It was bathed in the light of the hearts within the city, and Jayson felt as if he had known of such a place, filled with light, but he couldn't place a finger on it. The woman chuckled softly.

"It is beautiful, is it not?" Jayson nodded dumbly instead of giving a coherent response, which caused the woman to chuckle even harder.

"We will take you to the palace, you will be given a place to rest and recover for the night and tomorrow you will meet with our leader." Jayson began to nod before remembering what he had witnessed before being tossed down the waterfall.

"W-wait! I have something important to tell your leader, it's crucial to your people and to my mission that I tell him before anything bad happens, _please_!"

"I am terribly sorry, but he has to rest just as much as you do, please understand…" Jayson sighed before accepting the offer, hoping to tell them of the impending doom as quickly as possible.

After some time in his room, Jayson plopped onto the bed made for him and rolled over, determined to stop the Commander and Helga's plan before they could start it, and with that hope, he fell into a restless sleep filled with vague dreams of blood splattered stone and a light in the darkness that he was trudging through.

As a dark corridor opened into the heart of the city, a woman with light blue robes and the mask of a snake stepped forth, gazing up towards the palace with envy and sadness. _"If only you hadn't trie__d __to stop fate so long ago none of this would be happening… Ava…"_


	17. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Night had made way for day quickly, and Jayson awoke from his fitful sleep. He dressed quickly and made way for the palace entrance, hoping to find someone on the way so he could warn the leader about the Commander and his plans. Retracing his steps led him back to where he needed to go and found a guard. He tapped the bulky man lightly on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, is there any chance I may speak with the leader? I have serious information that can spell life or death for this world, please!" The guard stared at him humorously, before patting him on the head as if Jayson was a small child.

"Our leader is very busy right now, young one, maybe after he's finished speaking with his daughter-" Just then the doors burst open and a woman walked forth, she had long white hair, straight down to her legs, with some of it tied over her shoulder, resting there. She also wore a necklace with a crystal that looked like the one Jayson had seen underground. She saw Jayson and looked relieved, then angry.

"_There_ you are! I had sent someone to fetch you so you could speak to father, but they said you disappeared, come on! You have something important to tell us, yes?" Before finishing her sentence and before letting anyone respond she grabbed Jayson by the wrist and began dragging him along, reaching the throne room quickly. As they entered Jayson noticed the room was open air, with columns surrounding the structure, the stonework was beautiful, the lady bowed and Jayson decided following suit would be the best option, she spoke again.

"Keybearer, this is our ruler, King Kashekim Nedakh. He has decided to listen to your warnings." Jayson stood slowly, and got his first good look at the man, he had a long beard, reaching down to his waist, and while he had no hair on top of his head the back of it was flowing down to his legs. His face was tattooed with blue ink in strange patterns, and his eyes were a strange milky blue, though it still seemed as if he could see, as he was gazing straight at Jayson. He bowed stiffly.

"Thank you for your audience, your highness. When I came down from the outside world, I was thrust into a vessel with several other people who are searching for Atlantis. Most of them are good, but two of them are planning a takeover, the leader and his right-hand woman. They could be here any day now-" Suddenly a small alarm sounded, it wasn't very loud, but it was enough to warrant a stop in the conversation, the old king gazed to the woman, still bowed beside Jayson, and motioned for her to stand.

"Kidagakash, go and greet the outsiders, I shall stay here with the Keybearer. I have much to ask him." She bowed and left the room, Jayson slowly turned back towards the king, scratching the back of his head before blurting out,

"How do you know about Keyblades?" The King seemed unsurprised, and began to chuckle, as if he had been asked the question many times before,

"Because a Keybearer with knowledge of our future helped us live beyond the day we were meant to pass." His face seemed to brighten as he spoke, reminiscing about old times. Before being returned to the present by Kidagakash walking through the door with Milo and crew in tow, Jayson hid before they fully entered. She bowed to her father.

"The outsiders say they are here on a research expedition. To learn more about our lost culture." As she spoke Milo couldn't help but gaze around in astonishment, barely keeping himself from adding notes to the book he held. He attempted to speak up when they were asked about their voyage but the commander stepped in.

"We uh… lost one of our own a night or so ago, we had hoped he had somehow washed up within the range of the city." He tried to sound as genuinely concerned as possible, but Jayson could smell the darkness tainting his words. He stepped out from the pillar he had hid behind and made is presence known.

"I was actually just talking to his majesty about the _expedition_, Commander." He glared at Jayson, who gave him an intense one back. "Gave him a fair bit of warning so you all weren't killed on the spot." He walked over to where Milo was standing and stayed there as the proceedings went on, Milo got his chance to speak and his adamant speech seemed to sway the king into letting them stay, despite Jayson's warnings. Kidagakash (She said to call her 'Kida' for short) led the others to their rooms after a feast in their honor, but Milo stayed behind with Jayson so they could speak to the King and his daughter. Milo and Kida went off to explore the town, leaving the young Keybearer with the king. The king spoke first.

"I'm sure you have many questions for me, but I have many for you as well. My first question is this: What is going on outside of this world? I can sense the darkness looming, but it was peaceful for a short while." Jayson explained about the second Keyblade War and how peace was achieved, how wielders began to spring out again and how training was underway for the next generation of Keybearers. He then explained about the Foretellers and his journey so far, how he ended up under the city, and the plans the commander had laid out for invading the city.

"But I promise it's just the Commander and Helga, Milo and the others are only here to study and be on their way." The King nodded solemnly.

"I have encountered their kind before, they never last long here. I'm sure you have questions for me, you have answered all of mine, go ahead and ask away."

"So, who helped you guys survive? What happened to force you all under the ocean?" Again, the King chuckled as if he had been asked these many times before.

"You see, it happened nearly one thousand years ago, long before you or any of the people you know were born. There was a time when we lived above the ocean, as an Island. We were a prosperous culture with advanced technology and sciences beyond measure. But one day a woman, barely older than yourself, appeared before my throne out of a portal made purely of light. She had one robes and a mask. It was an animal I had never seen before, but she said her name was 'Ava', and that she had terrible news, much like you yourself." He chuckled, as if thinking of a joke to himself, before he continued. "She said our arrogance would cause darkness to burrow into our hearts, and the world outside of our island would be attacked by those who wanted our technology for their own nefarious deeds. Oh, how she implored us to go under, 'Fly away from this place and sink beneath the ocean, escape the hand fate has dealt you, please!' Back then I did not heed her warning, and it cost me and my people dearly, we lost… many to the attack, but we did fall under the ocean. But Ava had left for other things well before that happened. I always wondered where she got the foresight to see such a catastrophe…" As the King kept talking his face became sullener, and he began to lose himself to his thoughts. Jayson stood there in shock, not expecting to have gotten so much out of the conversation. He bowed and thanked the King for his time and went back to his room.

"_So, Ava went out of her way to help these people avoid an inevitable demise… but why? What did she have to prove? I'm still so confused…" _As his eyes became heavy, he saw a flash of an image. It was Ava, taking a battle stance against someone, Jayson couldn't quite see who, and he slept knowing that she didn't make it out of the bloodshed he had seen before.

The next morning was strange for Jayson, since nothing seemed to be going on relative to his mission, he decided to ask the king for a favor. As he approached the throne room, he heard him speaking with someone rather aggressively, he waited outside the doors as they burst open. The Commander stomped past, barely giving the wielder so much as a glance as he passed by. Jayson tentatively stepped into the room, bowing before his majesty.

"Ah, young wielder, what brings you into my chambers so early in the morning?"

"Actually, I had a favor I wanted to ask of you?" The king bristled slightly at this; Jayson guessed that the commander had asked for a _favor_ of his own before trying his best to show he meant no harm.

"It's just… I was wondering if there was a library here. There's something I want to research while I'm here, since you've been in contact with Ava."

"Oh, of course, but first answer me this: how do you know of Ava?" Jayson was stumped with how to respond, and just decided on honesty.

"I'm… not too sure of that myself, it's part of my mission, because some things just aren't adding up, and I was hoping the knowledge you all keep here would help me." The King guffawed at him, then coughed hysterically, Jayson rushed over and patted the old man on the back, hoping to help him somehow, he raised a hand after a few pats, signaling his lack of need for help. He rose slowly and spoke.

"I will show you the way to the library. If Milo hadn't run off with my daughter to explore, I would have shown him too. But he his having his fun, so I will let them be." He led Jayson down many halls, left, right, through some doors. He did his best to memorize the route as they stopped before large oak doors, with the Atlantean word for 'Library' inscribed near the handles. With a great harrumph the King pushed the doors open, before bidding Jayson farewell and left him to his own devices. The room was grand, with bookcases up to the ceiling, with multiple floors and ladders for the books near the top, yet the place looked slightly abandoned, as if it's knowledge had gone unused for some time, dust lay on many of the tables and on all the spines of the books. As he wandered through Jayson saw something that caught his eye. It was a bookmark, with a silver fox emblem dangling from leather string. He grabbed the book and noticed it was a journal of some sort. He opened to the bookmarked page and found it blank, then decided to flip back to the first page and began to read,

_To whom it may concern, my name is *Scratched out* and I lived beyond the Keyblade war. I survived and now I don't know what to believe. The master was _wrong! _I changed so much since the war, traveled to so many worlds and stopped so many of the foretold catastrophes, that is why they _must_ succeed! The Dandelions will fly away to the new worlds and populate, bringing forth the change necessary for light to never expire. I will detail more of my journey later. For now, I must hide this book. To whoever finds this, The Master of Masters is evil, and those who followed him are just as evil, no matter the mask they put up._

Jayson couldn't believe his eyes, _"All who followed the Master are evil? Then what about Ava?"_ Before he had time to ponder any longer a soft voice spoke behind him.

"You would do well to observe your surroundings every once in a while, Jayson." The voice was feminine, but it had a hint of venom to it when she spoke his name, as he wheeled around, Keyblade forming to act, he noticed the robes and snake mask. _"Foreteller!"_ He held his blade ready as he asked,

"Which one are you? Ira? Gula? I _know_ you can't be Luxu or Aced." The woman huffed, crossing her arms.

"My name is Invi. And I would rather not fight you, not now anyway."

"Then what do you want?"

"A moment of your time, to see what you remember of your true past."

"My _true_ _past_? What kind of bull is that? I know who I am, I'm Jayson, I'm sixteen, and I've lived on Destiny Islands my _whole life_!" He was shaking, she knew something he didn't, and whatever that was, he hoped she spilled soon because Jayson was _tired_ of being left in the dark. But he didn't get that, instead she only smirked and told him,

"Find your way down to where their gods reside, where you washed up, and you'll find out what you need to know." and with that she shimmered and disappeared right before Jayson's eyes. Without a second thought, Jayson bolted out of the library and to the gods of this world, leaving the old dusty journal lying on the floor, opened to a blank page.

GummiPhone Entries:

Master of Masters: The man who taught the Foretellers everything they know. He disappeared shortly before the Keyblade War began, though his past and motivations are a mystery to all.

The Dandelions: A group of people, their objectives are unknown, but they sprung up shortly after the first Keyblade War.

Invi: One of the Foretellers. She specializes in magic attacks but is very weak physically.

Ava: One of the Foretellers. Little is known about her, other than that she devised a plan outside of the Master of Masters.


	18. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Jayson began to sprint outside of the Palace, tracing his steps back from when he was brought up from the strange room, he landed in. As he made his way down, he passed Milo and Kida, bringing them up to speed as quickly as possible.

"We can help you!"

"No, Milo, if they're going after the Keyhole that means that the Commander is about to burst, he's filled with darkness, and _you're_ the only one who can stop him!"

"W-what? Me!?"

"Yes, _you_! Now go! You can do it, I promise! We all believe in you!" And without saying anything else, he ran further down the stairs. Once Jayson had made his way back into the room. He noticed the faces were split apart from the crystal, hanging by the tops of their faces and billowing outwards. Fearing the worst, Jayson pulled out his Keyblade and pointed it towards the crystal. It responded with a glow of its own, and the Keyhole appeared, though it wouldn't seal like the others. Suddenly a voice spoke inside his mind.

_There is someone inside the Keyhole, you must make haste, will we answer your questions as soon as you cross the threshold, please, hurry! _Jayson didn't know how to do what they were asking, but he was suddenly enveloped in a bright blue light and lifted in the air. His mind began filling with memories, he was running through a town with his friends, a white-haired boy and a long black-haired girl, they all had Keyblades, everyone did. Then the War came. Their unions divided them up and fought for light selfishly. The visions came and went but they all processed in his mind one single thing: _"I'm from before the first Keyblade war…"_ Jayson's vision began to blur into white until he was standing before five figures, four wearing robes and masks, with the one in the center wearing a dark cloak. Two of those masks he recognized as Invi and Aced. the other two, the Leopard and Unicorn, must be Gula and Ira, though he didn't really know which was which. At first Jayson didn't think they were real, until he was launched in the air faster than he could blink. He heard Invi shout a spell, but his senses immediately dulled, and he felt everything around him speed up. She had just cast Stopza on him as if it had cost nothing. He could feel the other four beating on him with their Keyblades, but he knew the pain would come soon, and no sooner than he thought that did the thousands of blows rain down on him and he was blasted to near unconsciousness. Someone screamed, he thought it was probably him as the last thing he saw before complete and utter darkness was Luxu summoning a shadow heartless, grabbing it by its antenna and tossing it into the void, as they left the world was engulfed with Darkness. He had failed, Jayson had failed to save this world and he knew that he was dead now, he let his mind drift slowly away as he thought of what to do next…

On the main island of The Land of Departure, Lea sat with Roxas and Xion, all eating their sea salt ice cream bars as they bantered about the days, they had spent training. When a white flash suddenly engulfed the sky, and a meteor plummeted down from the heavens into the training grounds, causing a loud explosion of dirt and darkness. They rushed towards the impact and when Lea saw what lay in the epicenter he gasped.

"Roxas, Xion, both of you get Aqua and round up the other guardians, _now_! We got a wounded wielder on our hands!" They did as he asked as he scrambled down into the center, cradling Jayson in his arms.

"Holy depths of Hades, kid, what _happened _to you?!" There were gashes nearly everywhere on his body, he was beaten, bruised and it looked like he had choked on some vomit at some point. Lea cast as many cures as he could on the kid before shouldering him and rushing him towards the castle. He knew there were some Elixirs in the infirmary for _bad_ fights, but they may just have to use their whole supply to keep him stable! He rushed blindingly past several wielders, who gazed on in curiosity until he rounded a corner, then went back to their training.

"Bless everything, the infirmary!" He rushed inside and nearly tossed Jayson onto the cot, screaming at the attendant moogles,

"Craft as many Elixirs and Megalixirs as you can and shove them down this Kids gullet!" As they rushed to meet the demands Roxas, Xion, as well as Ventus, Aqua and Terra all burst through the doors, screaming in equal parts shock and disgust at the state he had been left in.

After several hours and manyElixir later, Jayson was finally in a stable condition. However, he wasn't waking up, no matter what they tried, he just wouldn't budge. They decided to wait to see if he woke up naturally before trying anything drastic.

Then the screaming started.

It happened on the second night of his stay, Aqua had taken first watch of him and was blasted awake by the noise. Jayson began to writhe and grasp at the air, screaming names at the top of his lungs that Aqua had never heard before. He also began screaming about failing someone, or something, and soon enough his screams died down to small whimpering. But they were still just as painful to hear coming from a boy who, last, she had seen, had been so full of determination and life. After a long night of repeated screaming and cries for help, Lea decided to take the next watch over him, resting during the day to prepare him for whatever was to come.

Later that night the screaming began once more, it hurt Lea on a level deeper than anything he's felt in a long while, he gave the kid advice. He felt as if his advice led him to this point. _If I can't help the kid by sitting here, maybe I could investigate his dreams, see what's bothering him so much, it wasn't that hard when we did it to rescue Sora, right?_ Determined to help Jayson wake up, Lea concentrated with all his might on transferring to the sleeping realm, not sure of what he would face.

GummiPhone Entries:

Stopza: The highest tier of Stop magic. It is considered a grand magic and its mana cost is so great that most masters can't use it.

Land of Departure: The other training ground for Keyblade wielders. Aqua, Terra, and Ventus teach most of the classes, but Lea and the other guardians help from time to time as well.

Elixir: The strongest form of healing outside of Zetta Cure, it restores as much stamina and magic as the user can muster to heal at the time, usually it's a full heal, but in critical conditions it can only do so much before being ineffective.

Realm of Sleep: A mysterious realm where restored worlds sometimes reside, as they are too weak to fully return, and require a Keyblade wielder to give it the extra push to fully awaken. Riku and Sora took their Mark of Mastery exam in this realm. Sora needed to be rescued by the end of it.

Mark of Mastery: A test used to find Keyblade wielders who can take on the mantle of "Keyblade Master". Most of the guardians have achieved this status, except for Roxas, Xion, and Jayson. Sora was made an honorary master after the second Keyblade War.


	19. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

As Lea dove into Jayson's sleeping heart, he could hear a mishmash of voices and scenes belting his senses with wildly varying tones and settings. It was a head rush to get through, but once he made it to the platform, it looked… _wrong_. Most stations had a clear-cut look to them, it was obvious who's heart it was and what their connections were. Jayson's station looked like it was a collage of different people. There were some people with masks - the Foretellers - Lea assumed, and some other faces that he had never seen before, they looked to be around Jayson's age. Then there was Jayson's portrait. He seemed to be screaming, one hand clutching his head as these images began to flow into him, the other hand reaching towards his Keyblade, with another hand closer to gripping it than he was. A door materialized before Lea, and he reluctantly stepped into it. It was a stairway leading down into the darkness below. He summoned his fiery Keyblade, Chakrams on standby as he descended into the pit. He could hear something a bit more clearly, something dark, something _evil_. He could hear faint screaming coming from further below, it sounded like Jayson, and Lea began to speed his decent. As he began to near the bottom the screaming stopped, and he feared the worst as he turned the final way around and saw Jayson, hair disheveled and kneeling in the center of the station. He was leaning back, staring into the void of nothing that lay before them both. Then he spoke, and his voice was mixed in with that darkness that he had heard earlier.

"You shouldn't have come here, guardian. I wasn't finished with him yet!" The voice made Lea sick to his stomach. "Oh yeah? What have you been doing to my friend!" Jayson chuckled darkly.

"You think you are his _friend?!_ You all abandoned him to this quest _alone_! With little guidance other than half baked speeches of hearts and the power of friendship. You know _nothing_ of the struggles he has endured, and I will show you all that pain!" As the voice continued to speak Jayson rose in the air and Lea was able to get a good look at the station. It was purple and red, with a horrific being depicted on it, it looked like a nightmarish cat, with blood red claws and wings made of despair. Its eyes held nothing but malice for those who created it. It held the symbol of a nightmare. Jayson screamed once more as those same wings erupted from his back, he flew after Lea, Keyblade readied and tendrils of darkness smoking forth from his body. Lea barely managed to put his Keyblade up in time as Jayson came crashing down into him, he pushed back and slashed but as soon as the blade made contact the darkness healed Jayson. The redhead ran towards Jayson, getting a spell ready to blast him with. "Firaga!" But as soon as the word began to leave his lips Jayson slid around Lea and struck him _hard_, knocking him close to the edge. He whipped around and saw Jayson staring down at him, his eyes now a sickening red color. He smirked as he raised his blade.

"Not even half a fight. Pitiful." Jayson swung.

"NO! STOP THIS!" A voice exploded forth and another figure was suddenly blocking Jayson with a peculiar Keyblade, purple hilt, gold blade, and a star as its teeth. He didn't seem fully there however, his form something between a physical being and something corporeal. He had white hair, a vest like Jayson's, and a red scarf around his neck. Their blades clashed and for the slightest moment Jayson's eyes changed back. He shook his head and glared at the figure.

"You left me alone for _so long_! You do _not_ get to come back and showboat! I won't forgive you, not this time!" He pushed off the mysterious boy and Jayson landed on the other side of the station, twitching violently as more smoke expelled itself. Lea staggered upwards and healed himself with a potion.

"So kid, what's your name?" If the boy head Lea, he didn't let it show, he only shook his head and sighed in disappointment. He stepped forward and spoke,

"Jayson, I guess I'll have to beat the darkness out of you. I'm sorry. I truly am, once this is all over, I can explain everything to you. Want to lend me a hand?" The kid turned to Lea, who only nodded in response, then they readied their blades. Jayson dismissed his Keyblade and zig-zagged across the platform, trailing dark fire with it. Anticipating his frontal assault, they both blocked with their blades, staggering Jayson. They used the opportunity to let off a flurry of blows, Lea using fires to burn away at the wings. Jayson only roared in defiance and pushed the two back with wind.

"We can't do this without a plan, is there a weakness we can exploit or something?!" Lea blocked a blow to his back by using a 'Reflega'. The boy thought for a second before holding his hand over his heart.

"Give me strength!" His Keyblade became enveloped in light, and that light was transferred to Lea's as well.

"We use this, overflow him with light to drive the darkness away, let's go!" They charged Jayson one more time, swinging towards his head and feet. He caught both blades as they came down on him.

"Why are you so adamant on trying to stop this!? He came to me and I'm giving him what he wants!"

"You think killing the kid with darkness is what he wants?! YOU'RE _INSANE_! NOW GIVE ME BACK MY FRIEND!" Lea and the boy pulled their blades back and swung as hard as they could, slicing through the boy in a cross pattern. The beast roared one final time as he was expunged from Jayson. Leaving the boy crumpled on the ground, he was still breathing, but he was weak. Lea healed him with some magic, checking his vitals and making sure they hadn't done too much damage to him.

"Phew, he's safe. Thanks for the assist, so who are y-" As Lea turned to where they boy was before, there was nothing but the empty void staring back at him.

"... you. Jayson recognized him, so I can ask when he's awake. For _now, _though." He picked Jayson up and slung him over his shoulder, carrying him up the steps he had followed previously. As he ascended to the top, he noticed the look of the station had _changed_. Now it was a clearer picture of Jayson, in a battle stance, with eight portraits surrounding him closely, he recognized himself, Yen Sid, Aqua, Riku, and Kairi. But he couldn't tell who the other three are, but he was sure that one of them looked like the kid he had fought with earlier. It was strange. The Foretellers bordered around them menacingly. Lea sighed.

"I'm sorry kid, I didn't mean to put so much pressure on you. You'll be fine soon enough, don't worry." And with that everything became brighter for Lea as he woke up with Jayson in his arms.

"-Wake up, Lea!" The redhead was jerked awake by Roxas and Aqua,

"Huh? Wha? Oh yeah, the kid should be fine, something really weird happened though, and I think you should hear this." He quickly explained what had happened while he dove into Jayson's heart and they listened with great intensity. Aqua was silent for a few moments after Lea finished his story.

"We should call the other guardians here and hold a meeting when Jayson wakes up. He obviously knows something we don't, and it tore him up inside. Enough to welcome the beckoning of darkness. Lea, Roxas, please go do this, I'll stay here and wait for Jayson to wake up." The two nodded and did as she asked. Aqua sat down next to the boy, noting how much calmer he was now that the nightmare had been driven away. _"I hope you aren't hurting anymore, please rest and recover." _She fell asleep sitting there, watching over him and waiting for him to awaken.

GummiPhone Entries:

Lea: A fiery redhead with a heart of gold and an affinity for the element of pyromancy. He puts on a suave, cool demeanor to mask his genuine concern for his friends. He was once a nobody named "Axel" and some people still call him that from time to time.

Aqua: A Keyblade master with blue hair and a good sense of justice. She specializes in magic and her students usually follow down the same path. She is like a mother to her students and she views them as her children.

Roxas: A good friend of Lea and Xion. He keeps to himself most of the time but opens when he's around his friends. He is headstrong and stubborn; He also looks like Ventus.

Xion: Originally a replica using Sora's memories as a catalyst, she grew fond of Lea and Roxas and became her own person despite that. She is as fierce as Roxas and just as timid.

Reflega: Tier three 'Reflect' spell. It creates an orb around the caster and any damages sustained to the orb is reflected onto the person who struck it. Some people (Such as Aqua) can use a smaller form of Reflect when they block to cover their backs.

?: The boy who helped Lea free Jayson from the nightmare in his heart. His Identity is a mystery.


	20. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

As Jayson began to stir his eyes shot open, and he noticed a shock of blue hair like his own slumped over to the right of him, the ceiling was white, and the curtains were drawn around the cot he had been lying on. As he began to sit up the woman stirred awake herself, and once she rubbed the sleep from her eyes Jayson recognized her as Aqua, the master that Yen Sid had been talking to before his venture into Milo's world. _"Milo, Kida, I hope that they made it out somehow…"_ Jayson could hardly believe that was the case, and his face morphed into one of sorrow. Aqua placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled softly at him.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine, I guess… What happened to me? The last thing I remember was fighting the Foretellers in the world I was in, and I lost. They succeeded in forcing the word to succumb to darkness. I don't know how I survived." Tears began forming in his eyes as he looked up to Aqua with a pleading look.

"Why _did_ I survive? Why did it have to happen this way?!" He placed his head in his hands and began to sob. Aqua took him in her arms and held him close, rubbing circles on his back.

"I don't know, maybe your will is just that strong. But you're here now, I know this is sudden, but I called a meeting with the other guardians so we can all collect ourselves and better face this. I want you there." Jayson stiffened at this, and pushed away from Aqua slowly, he gazed into her eyes when he spoke.

"Master Aqua, I really don't think I should be fighting right now. I know it's essential for one of us to be out there, but I don't think it should be me."

"That's why I called the meeting. You won't have to speak up unless you want to, I promise." Jayson thought it over for a moment before slowly nodding. She allowed him to get changed and waited for him outside the room.

As they walked the halls towards the meeting room, Jayson became more and more nervous about meeting the other guardians. _"Sure, I met Lea and talked with him for a bit, but I don't think the others will think as highly of me, especially after what happened…"_ Aqua cut his thoughts off by announcing that they had made it to the room and stepped in. It was a simple room, with a long table in the center and roughly ten seats surrounding the sides and back of the table, with a mirror like Yen Sid's hanging on the opposite side of the room. Sitting in the chairs were Lea, Roxas and Xion to one side, with three chairs next to theirs being unoccupied. On the other side of the table sat a tall, burly man with brown hair and tight, form fitting clothing. Next to him sat a smaller kid, around Jayson's age, who looked exactly like Roxas. Hair sticking up in a strange layering. The only difference was that Roxas had darker hair than this other boy, and his clothes were baggy and comfortable looking. Then there was an anthropomorphic mouse sitting next to him, and after everything that Jayson had seen, he wasn't fazed. Aqua took her seat at the back of the table, and the mirror began to glow to life as Yen Sid's face appeared on the other side. Everyone stood and bowed before sitting down, Jayson taking a spot next to Xion, closer to the mirror. Yen Sid cleared his throat before beginning.

"As I am sure you are all aware, we have a crisis on our hands. Young Jayson has been out within the worlds trying to seal their Keyholes, Riku and Kairi are in the Realm of Darkness, and the Foretellers are destroying worlds left and right. Does anyone have any information as to their real motivations?" Everyone stayed quiet, Jayson slowly spoke.

"They're trying to revive their master, the one who taught them all, they call him the 'Master of Masters'. If he's more powerful than they are, we can't let them get what they want." Lea interjected after Jayson spoke.

"Which is why we sent you out to seal the Keyholes, the Realm of Darkness is a place that only a master can tread, and even then, it's dangerous. We all went on separate expeditions, and we all barely made it out alive. Aqua and Mickey have the most experience and even _they_ were having some trouble."

"Then why not go all together? Or send me with you? I think I could help; I know Riku and Kairi, they wouldn't get lost in a place like that if they had each other." The boy next to Lea, Roxas, cut Jayson off.

"We can't let you go with us because it's dangerous for you! We get that you want to help, but your best bet at helping is to seal the Keyholes while we search for the ones who are lost. Besides, if we all go together something worse than the Demon Tide would maul us." Everyone quieted at that. The burly man, Terra, cleared his throat and spoke with a deep, yet quiet voice.

"We've all been searching, but we haven't heard of what Jayson's been doing. I want to know why you appeared here like this; it was so sudden. Any information you have could be useful, if it's not too much trouble." Jayson bristled. He didn't want to let the entirety of the guardianship know about his failure at Atlantis, and he wasn't sure what to make of the memories he had been given when he met with the Keyhole of the world. But he knew he had to push through and tell them everything he knew. Jayson had spoken of his time with Milo and the crew, the Atlanteans and their connection to Ava and the Foretellers. Then when he got to the Keyhole he paused. Unsure of how to properly tell them what he had learned.

"Then, when I went into the Keyhole, they showed me memories I never remembered having, but I know they were mine. There were so many Keyblade wielders and so much light to go around. But it came crashing down. The Unions all started fighting one another, everyone _died_… except for me…"

"Wait, so you're like… _me_?" Ventus sounded shocked, everyone stared at Jayson in wonder, like he was a new person to them. He turned to Ven.

"What do you mean, 'like you'? Does that mean you're from before the first Keyblade War too?" At this question a puff of smoke appeared in front of Ventus, and as it faded away a small cat like creature appeared before them with a pouch hanging from his neck and a light yellow cape, he was gray and black striped, and the pouch had a white star emblazoned across the front of it. He looked like a living plushie. when it spoke, his little mouth twitched, and his voice was like a child's.

"Of course, he was! And I remember you, Jayson. You helped us out a lot in the data worlds, don't you remember?" Jayson - understandably - _freaked out _at the sight of the cat creature. He pointed to the thing with fright.

"What _are you_? I don't… I swear… ugh…" He grasped his head and Xion placed a hand on his shoulder, guiding him to the seat again to sit and calm himself down. She gave a pointed glare to the little creature before it huffed and explained itself.

"I'm called Chirithy. Back during the age of fairy tales every wielder had one, we were meant to guide them as best we could; Like a guardian angel of sorts. But if our wielder dies, we'll fade, too. It's what happened to me after Ventus went forward in time, But Jayson you're… and even more special case." Jayson grunted before looking up, rubbing his temples, Xion asked the question everyone was thinking.

"How so? He lived a full life on Destiny Islands, he was_ born_. How can he come from the past if he was born in this time, too?" The Chirithy just shrugged but spoke once again.

"Somehow before the first Keyblade War, Jayson's Chirithy was replaced while his real one was infused with Darkness, it's what caused the Keyblade War to begin with. from what his new Chirithy told me, he had defeated it just before the Keyblade War happened, but its last words were something like…" Its voice changed as the little guy focused on the memory, when he spoke again, it was the same dark voice that haunted Jayson's nightmares,

"I'll see you in another dream." Everyone's blood ran cold, Jayson began to visibly shake as Lea stood up and summoned his Keyblade.

"That's the same voice as the thing in Jayson's heart, explain to me how you know it and I might not sear you like a roast duck." Ventus stood and put a protective hand over Chirithy.

"No, you won't Lea, he's my friend. Can you explain what that means?"

"I can." Jayson's voice wobbled with uncertainty as he spoke. "I was given a bangle to increase the strength of my Keyblade. It was supposed to convert Darkness into Lux, what we called light back then, but it turned out I was just taking the Darkness and using it without realizing it. That's why my Chirithy became the way he did. But I still never found out who was behind it, or why they wanted _me_ to be the catalyst for the war. But I killed all my friends without meaning too, I-" Jayson stopped speaking, and just knelt his head down. Ventus moved to his side and patted him on the back.

"I understand how you feel, I had to abandon all my friends to become a Dandelion; It still haunts me to this day…" The atmosphere in the room shifted into something more solemn, and everyone was quiet for some time. Lea broke the silence.

"Jayson, do you remember what happened in your heart after you crash landed in the training grounds?" Jayson shook his head no and said he could explain if he wanted to. Lea regaled the story to them all, and once he finished, he asked, "So, any Idea who the white-haired kid is? You both seemed to know one another."

"Yeah, he was a friend I made before the war; his name was Ephemera. Him and Skuld were the only two real friends I had before then, I wanted to save as many others as I could though and declined the offer to be in the Dandelions. The last thing I remember before my life on the Destiny Islands is being bathed in a bright light, and Ephemera and Skuld standing over me, telling me it would all be okay."

"That can't be right, you were with us when everything started going down the drain with the Dandelions. Maybe you forgot about that?" Jayson conceded that it must have been the case, even if he still couldn't remember it properly. Yen Sid cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"I believe we have discussed Jayson's past enough, as enlightening as it has been. We must have a plan of action. Are there any suggestions?"

"I want to go with Jayson." Everyone's head snapped towards Ventus; shock plastered on their faces.

"But the students here need you."

"They have you guys here, one of us being gone isn't so bad, we managed without one of us every time we traveled to the Realm of Darkness, didn't we? And besides, two heads are better than one with the Foretellers running about." Jayson gave Ven an appreciative smile but stayed quiet. Lea spoke next.

"I didn't like letting him go alone anyways, he may be stronger now, but that doesn't mean that he can't be ambushed and taken out, having someone to watch his back would help him out, right?" No one seemed to question his logic, Xion spoke.

"I think it'd be fine, all in favor of Ventus going with Jayson?" Lea, Roxas, Xion, Ventus, and Jayson raised their hands in favor of this passing through, Mickey spoke next, and it was his high-pitched voice that startled Jayson.

"Well gosh, I guess we're outnumbered, huh guys?" The other three guardians, Terra, Aqua and Yen Sid sighed, but let the motion pass. Ventus had an ear-splitting grin on his face as he patted Jayson on the back, he was also smiling, though smaller than his new companion. Mickey spoke again. "I think we should have teams of three search the Realm of Darkness for Riku and Kairi, since there's six active wielders left, oho!" Everyone nodded in acceptance of this new rule, and it was decided that Aqua, Lea and Xion would be on a team while Mickey, Terra and Roxas would be on the other. It allows for one experienced person to handle the situation if things go south. And with a final command from Yen Sid, the meeting was adjourned, and everyone stood to leave, Jayson and Ventus stayed behind though. Mickey walked towards them, his tail swishing to and fro.

"Golly guys, I hope you guys are successful on your mission, and Jayson, here's a Keychain for you, Yen Sid told me about your ability. Try it out, oho!" He handed Jayson a Keychain with a crescent moon at the end of it. As Jayson attached it to his Keyblade, it morphed into a chain with a crescent moon on the teeth, with a star in the center of it, the blade curved around the moon and the hilt was like wings. Jayson felt power surge through him as he held the blade. He thanked Mickey as he was leaving and turned to Ventus.

"So, what do we do now?" Ventus chuckled, patting Jayson on the back as he led him out of the room and into the halls of the castle once more.

"We're gonna get you kitted out; it'll be fun!" Jayson nodded as Ventus led him along. Certain he would have an interesting time with someone else to watch his back.

GummiPhone entries:

Mickey: One of the oldest Keyblade Masters in the group. He was Yen Sid's apprentice when he was younger, and became a master shortly before Terra, Aqua, and Ventus went on their first adventure. He gifted Jayson with his first Keyblade: Star Seeker.

Terra: He is the strongest of his friends, yet one of the last of his trio to become a Master. He is headstrong and wants to use the power he must protect what matters to him most, he taught Riku this sentiment when they met for the first-time years ago. He has since learned to control his Darkness and use it for good.

Ventus: Upbeat and easy going, he was the second of his friends to become a Master, and he is well balanced with Power and Magic, though he is speedy to compensate for it. He enjoys spending time with his friends and would do anything to stop them from becoming separated, even going so far as to destroy his own Heart.

Chirithy: Ventus' Dream Eater. He was given to all Keyblade Wielders during the Age of Fairy Tales. He guided Ventus then and hopes to guide him now.

Ephemera*: A friend to Jayson and Ventus before and after the Keyblade War. His location is unknown, and he is presumed dead.

Skuld: Another friend to Jayson and Ventus, her location is unknown as well and she is presumed dead.

Age of Fairy Tales: The name of the time before the first Keyblade War.

Lux: The name given to light during the Age of Fairy Tales.

Nightmare Chirithy: The name of the manifestation of Darkness within Jayson, this was his first Chirithy.

Star Seeker: A strength focused Keyblade, capable of dishing out high damage air attacks, Mickey gifted this Keychain to Jayson to aid him on his journey.

_A/N: Wow… I think this is the longest chapter to date, and I did not expect it to go this way. Ventus is going to be an interesting add to the dynamic of the worlds now, and I hope you all like what's going to happen in the chapters to come. I hope to see you all soon! Ciao!_


	21. Chapter 19

_Chapter 19_

"So, when you say, 'kitted out' you mean…?" Jayson made air quotes around the words kitted out as Ventus continued to lead him through the winding corridors of the castle, down several flights of stairs, and finally into what looked like an armory of some sort. Many pauldron like items lined the walls, all suited for a different part of the body, the left and right shoulder, a gauntlet like design, and one near the elbows to name a few. Ventus turned towards Jayson with a flurry of jazz hands as he smiled widely.

"We're giving you a set of Keyblade armor of course! Just look around and find a set that feels comfortable to wear. Call me if you need any help, I'll be over here searching for spare parts." Ventus walked over to the corner of the room, by a chest and began to rummage through it, throwing pieces out and shuffling the contents up, with that Jayson turned to the pauldrons and inspected each one. He went up and down the line of them all until he found one that seemed different, somehow, like it was calling out to him. He picked it up and a symbol appeared in his mind, like the one on the back of Ven's Chirithy. He immediately knew it was the one for him.

"Hey Ven, I think I found it!" Ventus gave an affirmative grunt as he pulled out a few spare pieces of metal and set them on the ground. After helping Jayson with fitting the pauldron on, which strangely wrapped around his middle, right near where the belt would be. He stood up in pride as he wiped away a fake tear.

"I can't believe I was finally able to help someone into their very own Keyblade armor! It makes me so proud…" Jayson gave a small laugh as Ven motioned for him to try it out. He slammed his palm on the center and a light engulfed his form, and once it dissipated a bulky armored suit remained. Its base colors were blues and blacks accented with reds and whites, on the top of the helmet, near the visor, the sigil of a dream eater was branded on, Jayson looked down on himself and nodded in approval.

"I could get used to this." Ventus nodded as well, smiling from ear to ear. He stepped away and motioned for Jayson to step forward, and once he did, he was met with the two pieces of metal Ven had pulled from the chest, he used some magic to weld the pieces on and they were soon on their way back up the castle, armor disengaged and Jayson quietly following alongside Ventus, thinking of how best to bring up… well, the whole Keyblade War. It seemed that it was already getting dark out, and Ventus dragged Jayson down to the mess hall of the castle. It was an enormous room to say the least. Three massive tables spread evenly out on the floor, and put near the opposite side of the room was a large main table with enough room for each guardian to sit, and most seats were occupied, Aqua and Terra sat near the center, with a seat to the left of Aqua remaining open. Lea, Roxas, Xion and Mickey sat to Terra's right, and beyond the empty seat – Jayson assumed it was meant for Ventus and was proven right as he took the seat as if he had been born in it – Were Four more seats, probably for Riku, Kairi, Yen Sid and one more. _"Probably Sora, since he was a guardian too."_ He took the seat next to Ventus and smiled down the line of people. Dinner went on without much incident, Jayson couldn't see where the food was coming from, and decided not to question it, and let his mind wander instead.

"_Ephemera… My Nightmare Chirithy… Ventus… what does it all mean? How does Ava fit into all of this? Why do I feel like I'm close to something big?" _He shook his head _"I'll find out if I just keep going…"_ Jayson felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Lea standing over him, waving him away from the table with Roxas and Xion watching not far behind. He smiled at them and excused himself from Ventus' company and walked over to Lea before following the three wielders out of the hall and into the courtyard, suspended high on the mountain top. They sat at the edge of the courtyard and Lea whipped out four bars of sea salt ice cream, from where, Jayson couldn't tell. As they all began to munch on the bars Lea coughed a little to get their attention and turned to Jayson.

"You know, you have every right to not go, right? You could get some training here and go when you have more experience." Roxas and Xion were dumbfounded but didn't respond to his claims. Jayson took a contemplative bite of his ice cream as he mulled it over. He turned to Lea with a determined look, "I messed up in Atlantis… I don't want that to ever happen again. I still have so much to learn. But If I don't do anything, and stay here, more worlds will fall than if I did something about it, and Ven said he'd be coming with me now, with a master by my side, this should be a piece of cake, right?" Lea looked on, smiling softly,

"Yeah, of course." The rest of the conversation was uneventful, Roxas messing with Lea, saying he was acting like a 'big brother' again, which he adamantly denied, sounding quite embarrassed, and soon they were all going their separate ways, back home. Jayson made his way back to the castle, into a room that Terra led him to where he could sleep and prepare for tomorrow, when he and Ventus would depart for the next world, whichever one that may be.

**Shortly after Atlantis fell, in the Keyblade Graveyard…**

Luxu stepped out of the corridor of darkness with the other foretellers in tow, turning to them with a large grin on his face. "We're one step closer to getting our master back, isn't that _great_ guys?" No one seemed too enthused about it, and Gula stepped forward, face frowning under his leopard mask.

"Why do we have to force these worlds to fall to darkness? Furthermore, that kid, Jayson, his name isn't Jayson, so why are we humoring him? Not to mention you never told anyone your role yet, we all came clean to each other, everyone except _you…_" Luxu just smiled even wider, before turning and lifting his arms to the sky, gazing with his singular eye towards the heavens.

"My role was to hide the box, and to view history without taking part, which I may or may not have followed… But that's in the past, I have a new role now that fate isn't tying us down."

"And_ what_ would that role be, hmm?" Ira moved forward, too close for Luxu's liking, and poked him in the back. Luxu only huffed before turning around and pointing an arrow gun at him.

"My new role is to bring the master back, using you guys to help me, now you and Gula go to that strange world, connected to data yet just as real as all the others, I'm sure the guardians will go there next, too many clues were left behind, and make sure to not fail this time!" Ira growled softly as Gula huffed, they both turned and summoned a corridor, walking into it and leaving the other three alone. Aced grunted something about 'training' and walked off. Invi turned to walk away as Luxu spoke again,

"Have you figured it out yet?"

"You mean the traitor among us? Honestly, given the way you're going about all this, it could be all three of them, but I haven't found anything yet. That boy however, Jayson… he knew something about Ava, he was part of her union and the catalyst for the war, yet until Atlantis he was oblivious to it all… He isn't dead, is he?" Luxu only nodded his head, putting both hands behind his head and gazing upwards once more.

"The kid is sturdier than he lets on, and with that nightmare becoming his darkness incarnate, he'll be damn hard to kill. But don't worry, I've prepared for every eventuality, just keep up the good work Invi, toodles!" Luxu then summoned his own corridor and walked through it, leaving Invi to search for the traitor.

Gummiphone Entries:

Keyblade Armor: A specially made Armor for Keyblade wielders. It wards off Darkness and increases the strength of the wielder. Using it for travel yields no negative repercussions but using it for combat requires a cooldown time of three hours.

Catalyst: The person who set off the first Keyblade war by 'falling to Darkness'. It was a front used by the Master of Masters to get the Foretellers at each other's throats, yet no one knows of this.

3


	22. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

As Jayson awoke later the next day, he could hear birds chirping outside and the sounds of kids running amok in the hallways. Though bleary-eyed, he noticed that his sleep wasn't marred with the usual strange dreams or visions of the past like it normally was. He stretched and after getting washed up and dressed for the journey ahead, heard a knock at his door. He opened it to reveal a small child, maybe seven or eight, she had silvery white hair and red eyes with flecks of gold sprinkled in. Her skin was a caramel color and she had on a small shirt and shorts. She looked around bashfully before speaking in a soft voice,

"Ven-Ven said he wants you to come get lunch before you head out on your adventure…" Jayson smiled and patted her head.

"Thanks for coming to tell me, have you hand lunch yet?" The girl shook her head and followed Jayson, correcting him when he veered off track and after about ten minutes, they finally made it to the mess hall. As they entered Ventus saw them and waved them over. He thanked the girl, named Penelope, and she skipped away happily towards her friends. As Jayson sat down next to Ventus he spoke,

"You've got a worse case of sleeping in than Lea does!" Ventus chuckled at his own bit of banter before digging into his lunch. Jayson did the same and small talk ensued. He was the first to broach the topic of travel,

"So, how are we getting to other worlds? I have my portals, and I'm sure we can both use them, but if you have any other options, I'd be willing to hear them." Ventus chewed on his food thoughtfully before answering.

"I thay we uthe the portals, ifth you're worried about darkneth, just usthe the armor, it wards it off." Jayson began laughing at Ventus' innate lack of table manners before eating his own food in kind.

"Awrite! We'll uthe the portals!" Jayson waved his fork around for added effect and it had the both boys rolling with laughter. The conversation died down to small talk once more as the meal went on, after finishing his plate Ventus excused himself to go pack the rest of his things and left the table. Jayson left shortly after, heading towards the main entrance only to find Terra of all people standing near the door, looking around before his eyes fell onto Jayson's. He uncrossed his arms and approached, the mountain of a man imposing and menacing as the natural serious set of his face didn't let up as he neared the boy.

"I don't know all that much about Ven's past, but you were a part of it, right?" Jayson only nodded, he had bit's and pieces, but not a whole lot to go off of, he knew the major points, anyways. The war, the infighting, the Foretellers being mysterious. "Good, then you should already know that you should protect him at all costs, cause knowing him, he'll try to take a death blow for you…" The older man's eyes lost some of its luster. Jayson put an arm up to his bicep, since he only reached the older wielder's broad shoulders, and gave him a massive smile.

"I promise to protect Ventus with all my heart, no matter what!" Terra saw another boy at that moment, however, and was too stunned to speak as Ventus came riding down the bannister of the stairs, hooting loudly that he was ready. As the two young wielders walked away from the shocked Terra, he could only think to himself: _"It's almost like… Having Sora back…"_

As Jayson opened the portal out in the courtyard, he and Ventus slammed their palms down on their pauldrons and changed into their Keyblade Armor. They turned to each other and nodded silently as they walked over the threshold, and into the sea of darkness that awaited beyond.

GummiPhone Entries:

Penelope: One of the many, _many_ wielders that live and train in the castle of the Land of Departure, she's part of Ventus' group of trainees. She is seven. She also likes to refer to Ventus as "Ven-Ven". She is also 7 years old.


	23. AN

Hey guys, it's me, the author of "Kingdom Hearts 4". I have some news to tell the people who have read up to this point in the story. I'm going to discontinue this work. I can't continue to write for it anymore, for various reasons. This doesn't mean I'm going to stop writing altogether, I just don't want to write for _this _one anymore. The plot and various things that the games have done has just… burnt me out, I suppose. But I do plan on writing, still. I'm probably going to take some time to just write in my free time and after some time I'll post more here, It's been a… strange journey to say the least, and I'm happy that some people have decided to take an interest in this story and read it. There will be other stories, but I'm going to put this project on hold… Indefinitely. It's been fun, and I can't wait to show you all what I'll have ready for you in the future. It's been a ride. May your heart be your guiding key.


End file.
